Once in a Blue Moon
by xeikm
Summary: Revamping of the Twilight Series with a male lead. Ilario Swan moves in with his father, Charlie, and becomes caught in a dark romance with a vampire. Ilario is drawn into a world of love and monsters that changes his life. Yaoi! More info inside...
1. Twilight I

Author's Note: Alright, very excited about this story. I hope you all are too. This charming story is a revamp of the Twilight series with a male equivalent of Bella being the object of Edward and Jacob's affection. I'm trying to make him not too much of Bella since I want you to tell he's more of a guy, but we'll see how that goes. Haha. Anyways, Jacob wins in the end, but you'll see how things progress to get to that point. I'm thinking of ending it at Eclipse, but I might make my own version of Breaking Dawn...not to sure yet. I'm open to any constructive criticism. I just read every chapter of the book and redid each chapter to fit my needs so it'll be lenghty. I'll make them all of as either Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse that way you won't get confused when looking for a chapter. For Twilight it'll be five book chapters per fan fiction chapter, just so you're aware. There will also be lemons because...well...guys are just pervs who can't keep it in their pants. Haha. Well, let me know what you all think. Send reviews. Tell me if you want me to focus more on the book's perspective or be a little more original. I tried to keep it even between the two, but i want YOU, the readers', input. So read and review. And tell me what you think. P.S. Expect monthly updating since I have two other fan fics I need to worry about. Haha. Read and review.

**First Sight:**

I said goodbye to my mother at the airport with my parka in hand and a backpack. I was trading a loud life in Phoenix for one in the dreary, rainy town of Forks, Washington. Farewell seventy-eight degrees of dry heat and hello forty degrees of rain plus sheets of snow of January. To think that my mother escaped this fate once before when she left Forks with me when I was only a few months old.

My mother, Reneé, brought me down here to spare me from suffering in a small town like she had. She left Charlie, my father, though. From then on, I would go to visit him every summer for a month until I turned eleven that's when I finally grew a pair and cancelled that nightmare of a trip. Charlie would take two weeks off and meet me in California where we spend those two weeks visiting different cities. Last year, we went to San Francisco, which was amazing. I managed to sneak away from Charlie long enough to visit the Castro to see the gay life of the city before returning to the hotel room where we stayed at.

I wore my favorite shirt that I personally tore the sleeves off that showed my skinny arms and the tee had my favorite band on there, which I bought at one of their concerts. It was my farewell gesture to my old life; I had a plain turtle neck in my bag that I would change into once I landed in Seattle. From then on, it would be too cold to wear my usual wardrobe, which is why I already had a pair of jeans on with boots that would keep my feet warm. Hopefully, I would stay nice and toasty that way I wouldn't freeze to death once I landed.

"Are you sure about this, Rio?" asked my mother. "You don't have to do this."

"This is what I want to do," I told my mom. It was a total lie. I didn't want to do this, but I didn't want to compromise her happiness for me. She was totally missing Phil, her new husband, and she couldn't travel with him if she was too busy taking care of her sixteen year old son. "Charlie and I will get along fine. Now, finish packing so you can see Phil."

"Okay, sweetheart," she said, squeezing the life out of me with a big hug. "You'd better call, e-mail, and text me every day! No excuses, young man."

I tried to laugh, but I couldn't find the strength to do so. It was bumming me out, leaving my mom to go spend time with a man I barely knew. "Alright, mom," I said, while hugging her back. "You need to let me go now; I need to catch my flight."

She freed me soon after that, letting me get passed security so I could catch my flight.

When the plane took off, I looked out the window to say goodbye to my home. I closed the blind and turned to my left to see that the old guy next to me was already knocked out. Everytime I got on a damn plane, I always had to sit next to some old person. Couldn't I get a hot guy just for once in my life?

I just sighed as I rested my head against the pillow they gave me and went to sleep. I didn't wake up again until we landed in Seattle. I felt really groggy, I was a small guy, but even these seats made it feel like I was five hundred pounds. Who could get a decent sleep in something so uncomfortable?

Anyways, I went to the nearest restroom to change my shirt before running to my next gate. The next flight was to Port Angeles and that's where Charlie would be waiting for me. Port Angeles wasn't that much bigger than Forks, but I heard that it actually had a few real stores. So I ran across the airport to reach my flight, tripping with every other step it took, before I got to my seat.

It was a short flight, which meant there was no point in my sleeping. Once again, we landed and I just sat there as I dreaded my fate. It wasn't until the stewardess came that I finally got my stuff and left the plane. I went to the lobby and found Charlie waiting by baggage claim for me. He was still wearing his police uniform since he must've gotten out of work.

Police Chief Charlie Swan, what could I say about him? He was a decent guy, he was in his mid-thirties, I looked almost exactly like him, and he married my mom as soon as they got out of high school. A year later, they had me, Ilario Swan, and a few months later got divorced. Charlie never got over it, and as far as I could tell he was still pinning over mom.

Now onto the looks department which I would have to look forward to once I got out of my early twenties. Well, maybe not when it came with my build, I was skinner then twigs. He was a tall guy with broad shoulders, the typical cop mustache, short dark-brown hair, and a posture that would make any guy I brought home turn away. Now there was me, his scrawny son with dark-brown hair that covered part of my face, the fashion sense of an indie kid, and a pale complexion that made me look like the walking undead.

"Hey dad," I said. He didn't like it when I called him Charlie, and I didn't want to ruin the next two years of my life by pissing him off right now.

"Hi Rio," said Charlie. "It looks like you grew a little, but you're still as skinny as a twig. Does your mom feed you?"

"No, she just locks me in the basement and feed me table scraps."

"Still with the cynical sense of humor," said Charlie. "Somethings will never change."

We both remained silent after that, taking what few things I brought. I only had two bags with me; mom would send the rest to me. That was the good thing about Charlie though; he didn't talk more than necessary, which was something we both had in common. That and he didn't exactly know how to communicate with his gay son, not that he was homophobic or anything, just something he wasn't used to. When we got outside, it was raining, a sign for the next two years.

He took me to the police cruiser he had parked in the garage. We got in and spent the next two hours in a car, driving to Forks. I spent most of the ride staring out the window at the ocean of trees that were hundreds of years old and tall as fuck.

"I bought you a car," Charlie suddenly announced. "Well, it's more of a truck, but I think it's perfect."

"How old is it?" I asked, knowing that perfect didn't necessarily new or even newish.

"It was repaired in the eighties, but it was made in the fifties," said Charlie. "Trust me though, Billy told me it runs great. You remember Billy Black, we went fishing together all the time, and his daughters would babysit you, while you played with his son."

"I remember," I told him. I barely remembered, but let's just humor the man. All I really did remember was that Billy and his family lived on the Indian Reservation. I wasn't going to say much to Charlie though because he did buy me a car, which saved me the two grand I was going to use to get a new car. I would be attending Forks High and their buses didn't reach Charlie's house and he would be too busy most of the time to take me anywhere. Now, I could use that two grand for my own needs, I feel a trip to Seattle is necessary.

We stayed silent for the rest of the trip until we finally reached the house. The house I spent my first few months of life in and the rest of my teenage years. The rain finally ceased when we parked, it was late, and I had to go to school tomorrow. When I got out of the car, I saw the truck that now belonged to me. It looked like one of those tanks that no matter how many times you'd crash into it, it wouldn't get dent an inch. The red paint job only added to the appeal, which made me smile as I turned back to Charlie.

"It is perfect!" I told him. "Thanks dad."

That got a smile out of Charlie as he got my bags out of the car and took them inside.

The house hardly changed since I was last here. There was the same TV, same couch, same recliner, and same bad paint. I went towards the fireplace and looked at the pictures that were sitting on top. The latest school picture was up there, along with a picture of me as a baby in Charlie's arms, and there was a picture of Charlie and mom at their wedding. He really wasn't over him, poor guy, I wish there was something that could be done to help him move on.

I went upstairs to my room, not bothering to shower in the bathroom I'd have to share. The room was the same as well, but had a slight change to it. All the kiddy items were taken out, replaced with a full-sized bed and a desk that I would put my laptop on. The dresser was the same, but it matched the dark wood of the bed frame. My bags were already sitting on top of the mattress with a few extra blankets on top.

I didn't bother to change or remove the bags; I just fell face first and passed out for the remainder of the night.

When morning came, I woke up and quickly ran to take a shower. The hot water felt great against my skin and as I ran out, I saw that it was still kinda dark out. I checked the time and saw that I was an hour earlier than I needed to be, dumb time zones. That gave me more time to get ready though, I didn't want to look like a total weirdo or ugly during my first day.

Charlie was already gone though, which was kinda surprising.

I finished getting dressed, fixed my hair so that it was messy but neat, and made myself a bowl of cereal. It was disappointing how little food Charlie had in the fridge. I needed to do some serious grocery shopping before I came back home from school.

I left the house and made my way to the truck, I was surprised to see that it wasn't raining. As I waited for the truck to warm up a little before driving to the school that Charlie showed me how to get too. I parked in the visitor's parking that day and went to the office to get all the things I needed. Note to self, buy a parking permit so I could park in student lot.

The school wasn't even a solid school; it looked more like a series of portables. The office, the gym, cafeteria, and the science classrooms were the only solid buildings. The rest were divided off into various points in the house, which meant I would be walking out in the cold a lot!

I entered the office, unzipping the front of my black coat. Underneath was a plain, black long sleeve that went with the dark jeans I had on. My boots gave it away that I was there, which prompted a blonde headed lady to look up at me with a cheery smile on her face.

"Good morning, sir, can I help you with something?"

"Yes, I'm here to pick up my class schedule."

"Ah, you must be Ilario Swan," said the secretary. I flinched at the mention of my name; I hated Ilario, which is why I made everyone call me Rio. Ilario meant "cheerful" in Italian; my mom had an Italian obsession while she was pregnant with me. "I'll get your schedule and the other papers you need right now."

She was back in a flash with a flashy parking permit in hand. She told me that Charlie already paid for it and now I just needed to sign a few things to confirm I was who I said I was. I also got my picture taken for my ID before she sent me off with a map of the school, wishing me a good day.

I got outside and drove the truck to the student parking lot, feeling like everyone was staring at me as I got out. The truck wasn't that loud, at least I hoped it wasn't. At least I wasn't driving the new, shiny Volvo.

When I made it to the English building, I was immediately ambushed by a nerdy looking Asian kid. I was startled by his initial appearance that I actually dropped the map I was holding. He literally came out of nowhere.

"You must be Ilario Swan," he said, awfully cheerfully.

"Just call me Rio," I hissed.

"Okay Rio!" he said, still cheerful. "I'm Eric. If you need anyone to show you around or anything, I'm totally willing to help you. Anytime at all!"

"Thanks," I said, trying to blow off the energetic boy. I brushed passed him, trying not to laugh as I went to the classroom. I kinda felt like he was trying to flirt with me, but flirting was something I wasn't familiar with since no guy back home liked me.

I handed the teacher my schedule and he made me introduce myself to everyone. He called me Ilario, which I immediately dismissed. I just gave the quick summary I had come up with. "My name's Ilario, but just call me Rio. I'm 16, I'm from Phoenix, and I live with my dad." I finished my speech and went over to an empty desk that was next to the blond headed pretty boy who just smiled at me.

I tried to smile back before sitting down to prepare for the lesson. We were going over something that I already went over back home. It paid to take AP classes so I just kinda tuned the lecture out, while I tried to figure out where I had to go next. I was so out of it that I didn't even here the bell ring.

When I left the class, the blond guy was waiting outside. He introduced himself as Mike Newton, and offered to show me around the school just like the Eric guy did. I told him that I was fine when I began to walk to my next class, which was Spanish. He followed me though, keeping a safe distance between us kinda like a puppy dog.

"So, does it ever get this cold in Phoenix?" asked Mike.

"Never," I told him. "It rains maybe for one week out of the year. This is like a watery hell for me."

He thought that was pretty funny as he started to laugh his head off. It wasn't a joke, but I tried to laugh to go along with it. He showed me to my next class and said his goodbye before he left me to get to his own class. This was weird in more ways than one so I just walked on in to my Spanish class and prepared for the routine to continue.

Spanish was a blur too, so I went on to Trig and sat next to a girl I sat beside back in Spanish. I think her name was Jessica. Yeah, that sounded right. I'm terrible with names so I didn't want to say anything until she said what her name was. I was right, her name was Jessica.

We didn't get much chance to talk since we were trapped in the lesson. I barely understood a thing the teacher said, math was never my strongest subject. When the bell ran, I went over to the cafeteria with Jessica following beside me. A girl named Angela was waiting for us, she was apparently friends with Jessica and she seemed like a sweetheart.

When we grabbed something to eat and found a table, I immediately found myself being ambushed by Mike. Him and some of his friends sat at our table, which seemed out of the ordinary to Jessica and Angela since they were in shock. It looks like the new kid attracted all the attention of the universe for the people of Forks. This was weird for me since I was never Mr. Popular back at Phoenix; mostly because people thought I was a little freaky. Weird things tended to happen around me, besides my unnatural clumsy abilities.

At least, except for one table full of gorgeous kids. Three guys and two girls, it was like the Power Rangers. One guy was built like a bear or a brick house with short-cropped hair. He sat next to this gorgeous Glamazon blonde who put every girl I've ever met to shame. Another guy had long, curly hair with the average amount of muscle on his body who had the look of pain on his face. The girl next to him was petite with short hair that was spiked in several directions; she looked like a little pixy. The last guy was the most gorgeous of them all, looking like a Greek God. He was smaller than the other guys with bronze colored hair, a pale complexion that radiated even in the florescent lighting, and his eyes were the most brilliant shade of hazel that even I could see from the distance.

"Jessica," I whispered to her, "who are they?"

She didn't even have to turn around to know who I was talking about. She just dropped her forkful of salad as she leaned in closer to talk to me. "Those are Dr. Cullen's kids," she said. "There's Emmett, Alice, and Edward Cullen. The other two are Rosalie and Jasper Hale. They were all adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife, but the weird thing is like they're all dating, except for Edward. It appears that nobody in the world is good enough for Edward."

"Who is Edward?" I ignored the fact how old school the names sounded. I tried not to stare, but they were just all so perfect that it was hard not to.

"The smallest and hottest one," she said before returning to her lunch.

When I turned around again, I noticed that they were all beginning to leave with their food untouched as they left.

The bell rang not long after that and I made my way to Biology, which I had with Mike. So he dragged me to my next class where I noticed that I had with Edward Cullen. I felt my breath escape me as I looked over at the gorgeous boy that sat at the very back of the room. He looked up at me and bore a disgusted look, which made my heart sink and I felt like a total fool.

My bio teacher spared me from the dreary introductions. He just told me to sit down with the only free seat there was next to Edward. He looked at me, making me notice how his eyes looked black now, which was creepy. I bit my tongue as I took the long walk to the back to sit down at the empty seat. I noticed Edward pushing himself away from me, making me feel all the more ashamed of myself. The way he clenched his fists, iron tight, didn't help the situation either. Was I really that ugly? Did I smell bad or something? Did I have something on my face?

I tried to ignore him by drawing on my notebook until the bell finally rang.

Edward was gone in an instant, leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Mike came to the back with a goofy grin on his face, shaking his head at me. "So what did you do to make Edward Cullen run out of here like a bat out of Hell?" asked Mike.

Only rub insult to injury, why don't cha? "I don't know," I told him. "Maybe he ate something funny at lunch?"

Mike just shrugged his shoulders as he walked with me to gym. Apparently in Forks, you had to take P.E. for all four years of high school, while back home you only needed a year. The rest of my sophomore year would be a living hell as I had to go through gym again then again for junior and senior year.

The coach was nice to me today though, I didn't have to dress out which was fine by me.

When class let out, I went back to the office to drop my signatures off. But when I made it to the office, I was in for a horrible surprise. Edward was there and he was calmly arguing with the secretary about something. He wanted to change his Biology class, but there were no other openings.

"There's nothing at all?" I finally heard the melody that came from his mouth. Although he was a total jerk, his voice sounded like I had come down from Heaven, an angel to bring love to the lowly people. "I can't substitute it with something else."

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Cullen."

"Thank you anyways," he said, politely before walking out of there.

I refused to look at him as he left before walking up to the desk to drop off the last of the paperwork. I ran to the parking lot, trying not to make a fool out of myself when I saw Edward again. He was getting into the Volvo I saw earlier with the rest of his family. At that point, I just wanted to run to my truck and run them all over, but withheld these violent urges. I just went to my truck and got in, peacefully like Gandhi.

When I got home that day, I was still pissed about what happened with Edward Cullen. I just wanted to do something about it, but what could I do? I just stormed into the house even more pissed at myself because I forgot to get some groceries. So I went over to the kitchen, trying to find something for us to eat.

I found some ground beef, cheddar cheese, and a bag of Doritos. The best I could do right now was nachos so that would just have to do. I got to work on dinner to distract me from wanting to murder Edward to the point where I didn't even hear Charlie come in from work.

I turned back to see him lock his gun away in, but not before he removed the bullets. That was a forcive habit of his that he did around me since I was small. Although I wasn't the suicidal type, it was better safe than sorry at this point. Especially, since I did want to murder someone right now, good job, Charlie.

"Dinner's almost ready," I told him.

Charlie looked a little shocked by me cooking, but he shrugged it off. I guess he could never see his son as a cook. I did enjoy cooking though, it did chill me out a lot. "Alright then," he said, smiling. "I'll just change." He went back upstairs, while I finished getting dinner ready.

I served the nachos just in time for Charlie to come down in his sweat suit. He got a beer from his fridge and sat down at the table, eating the dinner I worked so hard to make. I sat down with a cup of juice, waiting for Charlie to either criticize or praise my cooking.

"I think it's safe to say that you'll be cooking from now on," Charlie said, after taking several bites.

"Great, then you need to cough up some cash so I can go grocery shopping," I told him.

He laughed, but agreed to it nonetheless. He asked the usual how school was question, and I just lied and said it was great. We finished dinner around the same time and he said that he would clean the kitchen so I could get started on my homework.

I didn't have much to do so I just showered and put on some pajamas before going to bed.

* * *

**Open Book:**

Two weeks had passed since I moved to Forks, and I'd have to say I was frustrating. Since my first day, I haven't seen any sign of Edward at school. His adopted siblings were still coming to class with us, but Edward wasn't anywhere to be seen. It made me so paranoid that I was responsible for all of this that I just wanted to scream at somebody.

I did all I could though to keep myself going without going off on somebody. I just went along with the flow at school, eventually getting used to Edward's lack of presence. As much as I wanted to forget about him, I just couldn't though. I was so confused by all of this that I just couldn't understand what was wrong with me.

It wasn't like I was in love with the guy. As far as I could tell, he hated my very existence. He didn't want to be around me and he obviously got sick by my presence. This was probably for the best though. I should just focus on more important things like my schoolwork, which I was already way ahead of. Maybe I could convince mom to send some of my old assignments up to me, if I could prove it wasn't for cheating.

I pulled myself out of bed that morning, running a hand through my hair. I covered myself with a blanket as I went down stairs to figure out what I would do for breakfast. Not before I turned up the heat up so I wouldn't be so cold. Damn air conditioning and it's stupid reset button. Charlie leaves me freezing cold because it always resets after he leaves.

"Let's see," I said to myself. "An omelet sounds good right now. I have more than an hour to kill."

I got to work on my breakfast and finished it by throwing extra cheese and some sausage into it. It was amazing, I ate such fattening foods, but never gained a pound. Sure, I'd probably have diabetes or high cholesterol or something, but at least I wouldn't be a fatty. Like I really cared right now about my weight, the cold required that I had all the body fat I could get to stay warm.

Breakfast went down nice and smooth, making me feel all warm and fuzzy. At least it had distracted me from my dreary school day a little longer. Speaking of school, I had to hurry up and get ready so I could get there on time. I rushed myself a little faster than usual, barely even touching my hair as I dressed into a flannel shirt, jeans, and a coat.

When I walked outside though, I saw my mortal enemy waiting for me. There was a blanket of snow laid out, transforming the green hell into a winter wonderland. I just turned back into the house to grab a bigger jacket before going back out to deal with the snow. When I got to the truck though, I noticed some snow chains on there. Charlie must've gotten up extra early to put those on, in the super freezing cold. Hmm, he was a way better dad than I gave him credit for. I needed to remember to thank him later for that.

Hauling ass to the school, I made it there in record time in my Beast. That was my cute nickname for the truck, Beast. It was a giant, metal contraption and could crush any car in the way. Although, it sucked on gas and it did stall a bit, but it was great for a clumsy fool like me.

I didn't bother paying attention to the Volvo that belonged to the Cullens. What I did pay attention to was my phone vibrating like crazy as I got my hundredth text from my mother. She would send about fifty texts a day just to check up on how I was doing. I'd send back short responses to keep her at bay before she would call me that night, asking if I was ready to come home.

Ignoring my mother, I walked up the snowy path with a deep grunt escaping my throat. Oh how I hated snow!

Mike popped out of nowhere once more, almost making me trip on the snow. By this point though, I was used to people just jumping out of nowhere so I wasn't as freaked as I used to be. I no longer screamed like a girl. That and I saw a snowball sailing towards his head, knocking him pretty good, which just made me laugh. I noticed Eric's figure running off in the opposite direction though, but Mike didn't see any of this.

"The snow is great, huh?" Mike asked, shaking off his attack.

"It's horrible," I told him. "Snow plus Rio equals a Greek Tragedy."

"You're not a fan then?" Mike asked.

"Not at all."

I just walked towards my first class, dodging the crazy kids who were playing in the snow. A few snowballs went after Mike, which meant I needed to get out of there before I got attack. So I hid behind my binder and tried to keep my distance from Mike. What I did notice though, while hiding was mildly surprising. I saw Edward for the first time in weeks. He was in the snow, playing with his siblings, and he was smiling.

My entire body froze at first sight of him, getting pelted by his brothers at once. They smashed him with snowballs so fast that it was a blur to me. It also looked like they hit pretty hard and that it stung a bit, which brought some mild joy to me.

I went to class, continuing my day like usual until it was time for lunch.

Our once small table grew to monstrous proportions with people crowded in every direction and stuff scattered everywhere. By now, I knew and recognized at the table, which I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing. Mike, Jessica, and Angela were the familiar ones, but then there was Tyler, Laruen, Dave, Bell, Abel, Donny, Nicole, and even Eric was sitting with us now. He wasn't just seething from his usual table, which once again I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing.

Jessica elbowed me, snapping me out of the space I had drifted off to. I turned to face her when she just signaled me to look back. So I did as she told me and saw that the Cullen table was full with the Cullens looking like they had never played in the snow at all. What was most surprising though was the fact that Edward was staring at us…or more precisely, he was staring at me.

"He's been doing that since we've walked in," said Jessica. "I think you either pissed him off or he's very interested in you, Rio, which is weird because they don't like anybody."

"I think he's pissed," I told her. "Don't stare at him anymore."

She just nodded her head as we turned our attention back on the table with Mike saying something about going to the beach.

The bell ran, signaling for everyone to get out of the cafeteria. I heard a chorus of complaints, while a smile formed on my face. The winter wonderland came to an end as the rain washed the snowy mess away. My mortal enemy was dead for now, which meant I could continue with my day. Now, I could deal with Edward in Biology who was probably waiting to go EW at first site.

Boy was I in for a surprise though when I walked into Biology. Mr. Banner wasn't in yet and Edward didn't look at me like he was about to throw up. That was a good sign so far so I walked to my seat beside him, doing my best to pretend like I didn't care.

"Hello," his voice sounded so musical. "I'm sorry we didn't get a proper chance to meet, but I'm Edward Cullen. You must be Rio Swan."

I was speechless, he was actually talking to me and it sounded sweet. The way his voice flowed out from him made me a little dizzy that I could barely articulate a sentence. "How did you know my name?" I stammered out.

"I think everyone knows your name," he said, while showing off his pearly whites. It was just ridiculous how white his teeth were! "You are the police chief's son and the biggest news to come to town since…well, my family showed up."

"Not that," I managed to say. "I mean, why did you call me Rio?"

"Do you prefer Ilario?"

If I didn't hate my name then I would totally be I love with the way he said my name. The Italian pronunciation was perfect, which made me want to melt. "No," I said, weakly. "I like Rio more."

We didn't get a chance to talk after that because Banner walked in. He told us to break off into pairs, which we were already in due to the arrangement of the seats. He gave us some slides and told us to identify the different onion root cells without the use of the book or notes. I closed my notebook and dropped it by my bag just as Banner dropped off our slides.

"You first, partner," Edward said with a crooked smile growing on his face. I just rolled my eyes as I identified it as Prophase. He wanted a second opinion so he took a look at it before making the final verdict. "Prophase it is."

He did the next slide and said that it was Anaphase. I wasn't about to let him off the hook with this one as I decided to take a look myself. Damn, he was right! "Anaphase," I said, trying not to look displeased.

This vicious cycle continued until we were completely finished way before everyone else in class. And with that done, I finally noticed the change once more in Edward's eyes. They weren't as hazel as I saw them the first time nor did they flash black. They were more of a butterscotch/honey combo that was positively unnatural.

"Do you wear contacts?" I asked him, suddenly ashamed of my dark brown eyes.

"No, why?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Your eyes change colors," I said. "Maybe it's just me or you could be one of the lucky ones who eyes change color in the lighting."

"Maybe," he said, his voice sounding distant now. I felt like I said the wrong thing so I just turned away from him. I caught Mike and his partner looking in the book, but Mr. Banner didn't see so they got away with it. I looked back at Edward, noticing that his hands were clenched into fists again just like our first encounter.

Mr. Banner showed up though, decreasing the tension that was built up. He dared to insinuate that I was dumb and couldn't handle the project without Edward. Surprisingly though, Edward stood up for me and said I had done my fair share by identifying three of the five slides.

"Were you in AP courses back in Phoenix?"

"Yeah," I said, sounding slightly bitter, "but we did it with whitefish, not onion root."

"Well, I guess it's good that you two are lab partners," he said, before turning away.

He was on my list now too, along with Edward who was still on the fence. If Edward continued to play nice then maybe I would forgive him and remove him.

I looked away from Banner's fleeting self just in time to see Edward turn to face me. "It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" he asked. I felt like he was making small talk with me by forcing himself, which made my paranoid self all the more paranoid.

"No it's not," I told him. "I hate snow and the cold and the wet."

That made him laugh a little as he shook his head at me. He was smiling though, which was really nice. "Forks must be a living nightmare for you though," he said. "You picked the coldest, wettest town in the country to live in. Why did you move here then?"

"It's…complicated."

"I can keep up," he said.

"My mother got remarried."

"That doesn't sound so complicated, you don't like him."

"No," I said, "Phil is a great guy. He's a little young, but my mom was always young in spirit. The problem is that he plays baseball, minor league, so he travels a lot. It was hard on her to be away from him to raise me. So I made it easier for her, I sent myself away to live with Charlie. That way she can be with Phil and I can get to know the father I never knew."

Edward just looked at me for a moment, not bothering to say a word. I wondered what he was thinking but there was no way for me to tell. "But you're unhappy," he finally said.

"And?"

"That doesn't seem fair."

"Haven't you heard that life isn't fair," I said, simply.

"I've heard that somewhere before," he told me, pain evident in his voice. "You're a very complicated person, Rio. I bet you're suffering more than you're willing to let anyone know."

"Well, I'm an open book, according to my mom."

"I don't think so," said Edward. "I'm very good at reading people, and I can't see a thing. You're so guarded and it's like you lock so much of yourself away by hiding behind a false smile."

I looked at him for a moment, wondering just what he meant with that when the bell rang. He said goodbye to me and I returned the gesture before we both left. I walked out of the classroom with Mike following me to the gym.

When we entered the locker rooms, I just kept my head down as usual and changed into the required uniform. Edward was so confusing and complex himself that I changed faster than I normally did. Although, it was pretty obvious that I was the gay kid at school even though the only ones I told were Jessica and Angela and I was certain that Mike was into me, I refrained from looking at the guys here.

Volleyball was murder and the other team tried to take advantage of my obvious weakness. My team made sure to steal the ball from me and never pass to me so that it would be safer for me. Mike was the one who guarded me most of the time, which was great since it meant I didn't have to kill myself for landing on the floor.

When it was all over, I left the gym feeling tired and made my way to the Beast. I just wanted to go home and take a nice, hot bath. While I traversed the parking lot, I saw Edward looking at me with much curiosity. I returned the look, almost walking into a parked car, which he caught sight of and I could swore that he was laughing at me as I did so.

Bastard, maybe I should get Charlie's gun and shoot him.

* * *

**Phenomenon:**

Next week, a nasty cold front came down from the Arctic, promising buckets and buckets of snow. Charlie and I actually had to get up at four in the morning to shovel out the driveway so we could leave, which felt like it would take forever. He put some salt down too, which made it a little easier since it just ate up the snow. He promised that it would last until I left for school, which I wasn't sure if I could believe or not. Not that Charlie was a liar, but nature tended to work against everyone's plans.

I carried my butt back into bed to sleep for the next three hours, while Charlie finished getting ready for work. I didn't wake up again until my phone's alarm went off at the same time as my alarm clock. Why was I so stupid into synchronizing the two alarms like that? The sudden shrieking scared me out of my sleep and nearly caused me to fall out of bed with a thud.

Asides from nearly killing myself this morning, I hurried to get ready so I could get this snowy day over with. I did the usual thing: do my morning pee, brush my teeth, put some deodorant on, brushed the knots out of my hair, and got a change of clothes. I had showered last night, which was good so I still smelt fresh like Dove soap. My hair was a total mess, but it didn't matter since I would be wearing a beanie most of the day anyways.

When I got to school, I saw Edward hanging around the Volvo with his brothers and sisters. I didn't pay much attention to the others, just Edward who seemed to notice me staring. Dumb me; I tried to play it cool as I got out of the truck, nearly sliding out in the process. I did a quick check to make sure no one saw that, this time it didn't even look like Edward noticed. His sister, Alice (I think), was talking to him so he wasn't looking my way.

I had just grabbed my bag and locked the truck when I heard a loud screech followed by a horn going off. I barely turned to my side when I saw a van coming straight after me, literally after me, that must've slipped on a patch of ice. It was just the van, me, and my truck. I could see the panicked look of the driver, who was Tyler, as he tried to swerve around me.

That only made things even worse. I felt every nerve on my body going haywire as I just froze in fear before I suddenly felt exhausted. That's when I noticed everything slow down a million percent. I'm not crazy, things seriously slowed down; maybe this was one of those lives flashing before my eyes things I heard so much about.

But I saw no replay of my life, not a single birthday, vacation, or anything. The snow fell at a much slower pace, I noticed people turning my way and looked frightful, and I saw Tyler's van going slower with each passing second. It was so weird, but what scared me most was when I turned to my right and saw Edward moving faster than everything else. My eyes widened in shock as I saw a blurry aura wrap around him.

Edward put himself between me and the van. I wanted to do something like get him out of the way, but I didn't. He was already in front of me, somehow, and his hand touched the van with a nasty dent slowly growing, while the other hand touched my chest.

That's when time resumed at its natural pace. As Edward grabbed onto my coat, I fell and bumped my head against the door. Things got a little blurry after that, but I saw Edward stop my car with his bare hands. It was completely unnatural, this couldn't be happening.

I just tried to shake the daze that was growing, while Edward helped me lay down on the ground. I could feel his cold arms on me, making my entire body feel numb. "Rio, are you alright?" he asked me. "Rio, can you hear me? Rio!"

"How…how did you get here so fast?" I said, fighting the daze.

"I was next to you the whole time," he told me.

"No you weren't," I mumbled. "I saw you…by the Volvo. I saw you…"

I didn't say much after that because I passed out there. The last thing I remembered hearing was Edward saying my name again with sirens going off. When I finally regained consciousness again, I was in a hospital room with my clothes still on and a nurse hovering over me.

I wanted to say something, but my throat felt parched so that wouldn't work. I ended up just coughing up a fit, which prompted the nurse to see that I was conscious again. She handed me a cup of water, which I was very grateful for before I tried to hassle her for answers.

"You're alright, Rio," said a musical voice. I picked my head up a little to see Edward standing by the viewing glass. His back was leaned against it with his arms crossed over his chest. "You're just at the hospital. You kinda of passed out after the accident."

"Is Tyler alright?" I asked, suddenly remembering him too.

"He is, but your truck totaled his van," Edward said, smiling. "At least you have an accident proof car, which is more than I can say about you."

I just flipped him off, while the nurse walked out of the room when Charlie came running in. I saw the fear and panic in his eyes, which oddly enough made me feel guilty. The accident wasn't my fault, but I just couldn't help but feel guilty about it.

Charlie just threw himself at me, wrapping his arms over me. "Thank God, you're alright, Rio," he said to me. I could feel some of his tears against my face, making me feel sick to my stomach. He was honestly worried about me; I've never seen him so worried. "I thought I lost you."

"I'm alive, dad," I whispered to him. "It'll take more than a van to kill me." That I directed more to Edward, noticing emotionless appearance of his face.

"Yes, I would say so," said a new voice.

Charlie released me from his hold and turned towards the door that had one gorgeous man standing there. I was left in shock as this ridiculously; good looking doctor came towards my bedside. This must've been the Dr. Cullen that Jessica and everyone else warned me about. Damn, he was gorgeous. Had he been Edward's biological father, I would say he got his good looks from daddy.

"Dr. Cullen," said Charlie, "is Rio well enough to come home."

"Just call me Carlisle, Charlie," said Dr. Cullen. "And yes, Rio's scans seem perfectly fine. I just want to do one more on him now that he's conscious and if he passes then you'll be able to sign him out. I'll just give you some instruction on how to take care of Rio's concussion."

Charlie just nodded his head as he waited for the doctor to work on me. Dr. Cullen stood over my bed, helping me scoot up a little so it would be easier for him to examine me. "Can I just say this, doc," I said, probably still hopped up on whatever meds they put in my IV. "You are by far the best looking doctor I've ever had the pleasure of having."

Dr. Cullen just laughed at me, saying he got that a lot. Edward seemed to get a laugh out of it too, while Charlie just shook his head at me. I knew he thought it was kinda funny too. Anyways, the doctor finished checking out my responsiveness before deciding that I was ready to go and took Charlie outside to finish out some paperwork so I could be released.

That just left me alone with Edward, the boy who saved me but wouldn't admit to it.

"I wasn't aware you were gay," said Edward, "but that would explain so much about you."

"Are you trying to say I'm just to gay to function or that I'm some damsel in distress since you had to rescue me today?" I asked. "I saw you, Edward. I saw what you did to Tyler's van."

That earned me an evasive grin from Edward as he went over to my bed. I suddenly felt the cold around him getting stronger, which made my body flinch a little but I remained my cool. "Rio, you don't know what you saw," he told me. I watched his eyes carefully, waiting for them to turn black. They didn't, but that didn't mean the look in his eyes weren't cold and frightful. "I was standing next to you and I just pulled you out of the way. There is no way I could've done anything to the van without injuring myself."

"I'm not so sure about that," I told him.

"Rio." Charlie entered the room, breaking off the talk between us. Edward moved away from my bedside as Charlie came to help me out of bed. I was free to go now, which was when he shared the lovely fact that half the school was here to check on me and Tyler. "And you need to call your mother."

"You told mom!" I wanted to tare his head off at that point. He just shrugged his shoulders at me, trying to play the innocent card, which I hated. Stupid parental logic, always needing to do the right thing. Now I would have to calm my hysterical mother down who would no doubt come to Forks and drag me back to Phoenix.

When we entered the lobby, I saw the entire student body of Forks High there. Well, maybe not the entire student body, but I looked like a close bet. Everyone practically threw themselves at me as they just rushed after me, asking me if I was alright and if I would be okay. I tried to assure everyone that I would be fine when I noticed Edward lingering in the shadows.

The Glamazon, Rosalie, had a pissed look on her face that made me want to wet myself. She just raised her hands up in defeat before running off in another direction, which was when I decided to make my move. I said my goodbyes to everyone and told Charlie that I needed to talk to Edward for a minute.

I reached Edward who didn't even bother to move an inch. I barely even looked at him when he signaled me into a corner with him that we wouldn't be seen. "Tell me what really happened, Edward." I found myself yelling at him, which wasn't probably something I should be doing at a hospital. "I know you were more involved that you're willing to share. I know exactly what I saw and I want you to tell me the truth."

"The truth, Rio, is that I just pushed you away and the truck did the rest of the work," Edward said, trying to sound convincing. I could tell that he was lying and he was an awfully good one at that. Had I not been so sure that time magically slowed down and I hadn't seen Edward talking to Alice moments before then I might've believed him. But I knew what I saw, and I needed to get him to admit that.

We just stared at each other for the longest time, glares present on both of our faces. I didn't know what Edward is or how strong he really was, but I wasn't sure if I should test that right now. The strength I did feel when he touched me though was incredible, it was like electricity was running through my veins.

"You're an asshole," I finally told him. That earned me deeper, darker glare from Edward, but I didn't care at all. At this point I was just so mad at him that I wanted to hit him. "Why won't you tell me the truth? It's not like I'm going to tell anyone, I just need to know what I saw."

"What you saw was a figment of your imagination," he told me, his voice sounding like he was barely in control of the anger growing. "I think it's best if you leave with Charlie, Rio."

"Fuck you," I said, bitterly, as I walked over to Charlie, not caring if Edward's eyes had gone all Wicked Willow on me.

I reached Charlie and he took me to the cruiser, which was waiting at the front of the hospital. I barely paid attention to anything as he drove us back home. He told me to rest while he fixed me something to eat. So I went over to the couch, throwing a blanket over myself, and rested my eyes until I started to drift to sleep with my dreams starring Edward Cullen.

* * *

**Invitations:**

The after effects of the accident brought the spotlight back on my attention, which I had tried so hard to get away from. Seriously, who could deal with the pressure of an entire town just watching and staring at you, making you insanely miserable. Then there was Edward Cullen, the ass who just tried to ignore me into nonexistence. He was driving me completely insane and I couldn't stand it anymore!

While at lunch today, everyone continued to talk about what happened. Tyler had become my new Mike and Eric, except he was worst then the rest. He kept saying how sorry he was for the accident and that he didn't mean to try and hit me. He blamed himself for the whole thing, which was completely stupid. It wasn't his fault that he drove over a patch of ice and that the Fates decided to put me between him, which I tried to convince him of.

Then there was me trying to convince everyone that Edward was the one who got me out of the way, which no one could believe. Nobody remembered seeing Edward anywhere near me, but they believed that maybe he just wasn't in their line of sight at the time. That's when I became even more sure of myself that I did see what I saw and that Edward was hiding some big, dark secret from everyone. It was possible that the entire Cullen/Hale family was hiding something that I was just itching to find out, but I knew this was something I would have to take to my grave.

I looked over at their table, Edward wasn't there again. I half expected him to be skipping out again like he did when we had our first encounter. I tried to focus back on the realm of now, I had to push all thoughts of Edward Cullen out of my head. I was tired and angry at him, the guy was as good as dead to me, and at least that's what I had to convince myself.

When I went to Biology, I discovered that Edward wasn't skipping and he was sitting at the usual seat. I stayed silent as I sat down beside him, dropping my things on the table as I pulled out what I needed. There was no point in greeting one another since we were both too stubborn and "macho" to be the first to surrender.

"You're impossible," Edward snapped. "You know that right?"

"I'm only impossible because you're trying to tell me that I'm crazy," I snapped back. "You're the one who hates me and can't stand the sight of me. You probably regret even saving me too." I just threw every barrel I had at him, which even made Edward flinch. There was a lot of hurt in my voice, which I didn't hold back.

"You really think I regret saving you?" he asked, sounding just as hurt.

I only nodded my head before turning to look away from him, he remained silent after that too.

Banner gave us another lab that involved only minimal interaction with one another. We just scribbled down our answers, still not talking, before he took the papers to turn in to Banner. With that finished, the awkwardness between us only escalated to epic proportions. I just wanted to ring his neck at this point, but I wanted to focus on my bitter anger when I heard two girls ahead of us talking about a girl's choice dance.

With any luck, I could avoid getting invited. None of the girls found me appealing, from what I could tell, so I would be completely free not to go. And that was the perfect excuse to go out to Seattle to go raid some bookstores and thrift shops. There was nothing even remotely good bookstores in Forks and the thrift stores were embarrassing at best.

The bell dismissed us and I left with Mike walking out with me, while Edward lingered behind.

"Did you hear about the dance?" Mike asked. "They're a lot of fun."

"I'm not good with dances," I told him. "I'm the only gay guy on Earth with two, left feet. Plus, I already have plans to go out to Seattle that weekend."

"What a pity, I kinda would've liked to go with you," he confessed, sounding slightly disappointed.

I turned to him with an eyebrow raised. Was I hearing what I thought I heard? "Mike Newton, are you telling me you're gay?" I asked. "Hmm…Jessica would be terribly disappointed to hear that."

"I'm not gay," he said, stuttering that reply out. "Maybe bi, but not gay. And what do you mean about Jessica?"

"She wants to go with you," I told him.

I just left it at that as we went to gym, changed into the uniforms, and made our way to the court where the volleyball game would continue. This was our last week playing this horrible sport, much to my joy. Mike wouldn't stop talking about Jessica though, which was also a good sign. That meant he was moving on from me and onto somebody that would actually like him. Granted, Mike was a sweet and pretty hot guy, but he wasn't exactly my type. I preferred the dark and mysterious….not Edward!

When that miserable game was over and I was fleeing the locker room for freedom, I was ambushed by Eric who scared the living daylights out of me. That kid seriously just jumped out of nowhere, completely catching me off my guard. So much for not making stupid screams.

"Sorry for scaring you," said Eric, "but I was kinda wondering if you were going to the dance in a few weeks."

"No," I told him, "plus it's girl's choice. Last I checked, we were both boys. Bye Eric."

I rudely left it at that as I went towards my car with Edward standing by his Volvo like he was all cool and shit. I wanted to just throw something at him and run in the opposite direction, but I held myself up with grace as I went to my truck. I jumped in, wondering what the hell was up with the guys in Forks. It's like the water here made them act all funny. If they weren't trying to hit on me then they were psychos who saved my life then got all angry with me.

It was all so terribly frustrating, or maybe it was just me. Maybe I was just so shinny and new here that I was the new toy that everybody had to have. I was just a game for them, probably because Charlie gave half of these guys tickets. That was it! This was their vengeance plot, who could break the police chief's son until he withered into nothing because his daddy gave us tickets.

What a fucked up head I have, I thought while I pulled out.

At least, I tried to pull out of the parking spot when Edward blocked me with his damn Volvo. I wanted to run that tiny ass car over just out of spite when I saw Tyler running towards my truck. Oh God no, please tell me this wasn't about to happen. I looked around to see that I blocked around at all sides, which meant there was no escaping. I could see the devious smile on Edward's face, which only pissed me off all the more at him.

Tyler knocked on my window, only adding to my anger and disappointed. I didn't even roll it down all the way as I hoped he wasn't going to ask what I think he was. "What is it, Tyler?" I asked, trying to sound polite. "I'm a little busy trying not to run over Edward right now."

"That's kinda why I thought now was the perfect time to talk," he said, smiling at me. "I was wondering if you'd want to go to the dance with me as repayment for nearly killing you."

"I'm not going to the dance," I told him. "Dances are not my thing, plus it's a girl's choice. It would be kinda weird if we go AND are you trying to say I'm a girl?"

"No, not at all," he said, shaking his head. "I just thought it would be fun."

"I'm busy that Saturday anyways," I told him. "So I really can't go."

"That's too bad," he said, shaking his head. "Well, there's always prom! See ya, Rio."

He ran off with me wanting to run that boy over now with the truck, but my rage was focused on Edward who was laughing in his car before finally driving off.

Fuck the dreams I had of him (none sexual, of course), he was a dead man!

I kept my rage down to a minimum as I drove back home.

When I finally reached the house and finished making dinner, Charlie came home looking awfully tired. I pulled out the Baked Ziti from the oven and offered him a plate before telling him my master plan. I explained how I wanted to go to Seattle for the day, by myself, so I could raid the town and restock my book collection.

"Isn't there a dance that day?" he asked me.

"It's girl's choice and since girl's do not interest me, I thought I'd do something fun for myself," I told him. "Is that alright, dad?"

"Sure, just promise me you'll be careful and don't do anything stupid," he warned me.

I just nodded my head, agreeing as I returned to my plate of warm Ziti, which just melted away my frustrations with the day I had. At least until I went to bed that night, after finishing what little homework I had. When I crawled into bed with my blankets over me, wearing only a t-shirt and a pair of briefs, and a pillow in my arms, I stared to dream about him again.

The dream felt so real and surreal all at the same time. Edward and I were lying on a field, we were both naked but a blanket covered us both, and he was spooning me. His hands wrapped over me, bringing me closer to him as I just swooned in his touch. Despite it being oddly cold, I could feel Edward's burning touch keep me from freezing to death. That's when I felt him bite into my neck, which felt suspiciously rough and that's when I woke up.

I gasped for breath, feeling like I had really been bit by Edward with a sticky mess in my briefs. I didn't bother to get out or change, I just wiggled myself out and threw them to the floor. It looks like I would go back to sleep completely bottomless that night. Hopefully I wouldn't have another wet dream…at least one with Edward in it…

* * *

**Blood Type:**

That wet dream I had was only the first of weird things to come.

I went to school, feeling on edge about everything. I didn't want to be anywhere near him that day or anyone else for that matter. Everything was just a blur for me up until lunch. I walked in the cafeteria with Jessica waiting for me to show up. Naturally, I went with her to the line to grab something to eat.

As I was paying for the pizza and juice, Jessica was elbowing my arm. I turned back to figure out what she wanted when she pointed back around. When I looked around, I saw Edward staring at me, he was sitting by himself away from his family. He just raised one finger and motioned it so that I would go to him.

"What are you going to do?" Jessica asked.

"I guess I'll see what he wants," I told her, automatically walking over to him.

It was like the first day of high school all over again. It was the awkward walk to a table, not knowing anyone around you, and just hoping that this one table would allow you to sit. I was almost hoping he was playing a cruel joke on me, but he just told me to sit like nothing had happened between us.

When my ass reached the seat that's when our talk began.

"I don't regret saving you," he told me as soon as I sat. "It's just telling you the truth would be dangerous for us."

"Who is us?" I asked.

"Myself, my family, and you," he said, softly. "Knowing our secret would only put you in more danger."

"Are you trying to tell me you're some Superboy or you've been bitten by some radioactive spiders?" I asked him.

"No," he said, laughing a little by my response. At least I could take comfort in knowing that I was funny. "And before you ask, we're not mutants either and we weren't hit with any cosmic radiation up in a space station."

I just nodded my head as I took a bite from my pizza. I dropped it back down on my plate before giving him a good look. He didn't seem mad at me, which was shocking considering everything I've charged him with and how I treated him. "I'm sorry," I told him. "I'm sorry for saying that you regretted saving me."

"It's alright, but it's probably best that we shouldn't be friends," said Edward.

"I understand," I told him.

So when I was about to get up and leave, Edward's hand touched mine. My body tensed up as I just sat back down with his cold hand against mine, noticing the pleading look on his face. "Just because I said we shouldn't be friends," he told me, "doesn't mean that I don't want to. I want to be your friend, but we shouldn't."

"Not sure if I understand," I told him, "but I guess."

"Maybe this will make it easier for you to understand." He leaned in towards me, making me take in his alluring scent. It amazed even me as I tried to contain the flush that was growing. "What if I'm not the hero of the story? What if I'm really the villain?"

That was something to think about. Edward didn't look like a villain, but appearances could always be deceiving. I leaned towards him to meet his gaze head on and looked him straight in the eyes, trying to read him. "You don't look like a villain to me," I told him. "I can see that there is good in you, otherwise you would've let Tyler's van flatten me like a pancake."

"Let's just hope you're right," he said, calmly.

"Speaking of Tyler," I said, suddenly remembering yesterday. I pushed his face, making him sit back down, while he was shocked by my sudden boldness. "That's for blocking me yesterday and forcing me to talk with Tyler! You're an ass for doing that."

He started to laugh, having apparently forgotten about it. He just raised his hand up to his bottom lip before pointing at the table I usually sat at. "I had to give Tyler his chance, seeing how Mike and Eric got the chance to ask you," he said, smiling. "Besides, I had to get you back for your rude behavior."

"Fine," I said, biting my lip. "We're even now." The bell started to ring and I finished off the last of my pizza. I was getting my things, but Edward wasn't budging an inch which I thought was very odd. "Are you coming? We do have class."

"I think I'll skip this one," he told me. "I believe that it's healthy for one to skip class every once in a while. You can go on ahead though."

"Alright, but don't expect me to cover for you," I told him before walking out.

"Goodbye Rio," he called out to me before I was out of range.

I took a lonely walk to the class and walked in to see that Mr. Banner wasn't in yet. That could be a very good sign, but I just kept on walking to the back row, not bothering to look at the jealous look Mike had on his face. I just got to my desk and sat my butt down, waiting for the worst to happen.

Whenever Mr. Banner was this late to class then that meant we would have a lab. Since I was partnerless that could prove to be a pain in the ass for me. That meant I would single-handedly have to carry all this work unless somebody else was without a partner today. I just gave a heavy sigh, suddenly wanting to hit Edward for ditching me today.

Banner showed up with some needles and vials. Suddenly I felt very nervous when he explained of a blood drive that was going on in town, followed by each of us checking our blood type. I really didn't like where this was going. My stomach fell and I nearly heaved my lunch out right there, I hated being around blood. I wasn't squeamish or anything, but the smell of blood always made nervous and for some reason I would get really dizzy.

It wasn't even a minute after Banner handed out the when the smell of blood hit me. I held onto the counter, trying not to pass out on the spot. Fuck you, Mr. Banner, and your stupid blood drive! "Mr. Banner," I said, raising my hand, "can I please leave to the nurse's office. I'm not feeling so well."

"Go ahead, Rio," said Mr. Banner. "Mike, can you help him?"

"Sure, Mr. Banner," Mike said, already helping out of the room.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder then leaned against Mike, using him as support as we exited the classroom. It took everything I had not to pass out right there on the spot. We were halfway there to the nurse's office when I begged Mike to stop. I went over to a bench and just sat down there with him looking down at me with a worried expression.

Mike sat beside me with his hand on my shoulder. I just stared at the ground, trying to shake off the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Damn weakness with blood. I could never understand why I got so weak when it came to blood.

"So…we're going to the beach next week," Mike said, trying to pull me out of it. "You should come with us. It'll be a lot of fun."

"What beach?" I asked, trying to humor him so I wouldn't be focused on my sickness.

"The one on the reservation, it's like the best one outside of Port Angeles."

"Sure," I said, feeling a little better by his distraction.

I could tell that he was as giddy as a school girl by my compliance. But that didn't last when I heard someone calling my name, I managed to pick my head up to see Edward coming towards me with a concerned look. Mike suddenly jumped into the defensive when Edward reached us, asking what had happened to me.

"I'm not so good around blood," I told Edward.

"Then I suppose I should take you to the nurse's office," Edward suggested.

"I'm taking him!" Mike said, jumping to his feet. "Mr. Banner told me to help him."

"Mike," I said, trying to get him to calm down. Seriously, what was his issue with Edward? "You should go back to class and finish. I'll be fine with Edward taking me to the nurse."

He didn't get the chance to argue when Edward just swooped me up. I didn't even get the chance to blink when I found Edward carrying me bridal style, which I found to be very humiliating. I yelled at him to put me down, but he didn't bother to listen to me.

Edward just carried me to the nurse's office, while Mike just watched us leave. He brought me into the nurse where a kind lady wasn't surprised to see us there. She said that this happened every year, somebody would always pass out, but I said I wasn't passing out. Edward sat me down on the cot that was set up there, while I continued to argue some more.

"You're a stubborn one," the nurse said to me.

The door opened up with Mike coming in with another kid from class. It looked like another, poor bastard had issues with blood like I did. But he looked green in the face, I was grateful that I didn't look that way at least.

Mike went back to the class, not even bothering to look at us.

I felt a sigh of relief that Mike didn't bitch too much. I was barely thinking when I heard Edward offer to take me home since I wasn't looking so good. The nurse said it would be fine with her, but when I tried to protest, Edward just said I was just being stubborn.

"Fine, but I can walk myself," I said, yelling at him.

Edward tried to help me up, but I pushed his hand away from me. I got up from the cot and started to walk myself out the door as I politely thanked the nurse for her help. We started to make our way to the parking lot and I instinctively went over to my Beast when Edward's hand tugged on my arm.

I looked back just as he started to pull me into the opposite direction. He dragged me to the shiny Volvo that was parked at the other end. "I told the nurse that I would get you home, safely," he emphasized that last part. "We're taking my car."

Somehow, I didn't even find myself arguing with him. I just shook my head and followed his lead, he even held the door open for me. What a proper gentlemen, I thought sarcastically to myself. I dropped my backpack onto my lap, taking in the still fresh scent of the car. This car must've really been brand new.

"What about my truck?" I asked him.

"Don't worry," he told me. "I'll get it back to your house before Charlie shows up."

He pulled out of the parking lot, leaving the high school behind us. I just leaned back against the head rest and closed my eyes for a moment. "Okay, so if you're family's not The Incredibles, then that must mean you're pretty badass," I told him. "I should be very afraid of you, but I'm not."

"You're not that smart then," he told me.

"Why did you disappear?" I blurted out before he could say anything else about my lack of intelligence. "Not today, but when we first met. Why did you leave the way you did?"

"I had to get away from you," he said, softly. "I don't trust myself around you."

"And I'm sure there's no sexual meaning behind that," I said, laughing only a little. I saw the pissed look on his face and just apologized before he got any madder. "What I'm trying to say is, there is something about me that makes it harder for you to be around me than a normal person."

"Correct," he told me. "We're here."

I finally opened my eyes in time to see that we were parked in my driveway. Edward was staring at the garage that brick wall of the house, not even acknowledging my presence anymore. I just shook my head before calling for his attention.

I needed to change the subject and fast before Edward completely shut himself down. "Mike invited me and some other people to the beach next week," I told him. "Would you like to come with us?"

"Which one?" he said, fighting a smile. "And when?"

"The one on the reservation, and I guess next weekend."

"Can't go," he said, calmly. "My family isn't allowed on the reservation and I'm going camping with Emmett."

"Did you trash the place?" I asked the obvious.

He started to laugh at me before he finally looked at me. The smile on his face was so mesmerizing that I felt like my head was spinning for a minute. "It's a little more complicated than that," he said, softly. "We're eco-friendly, by the way."

I laughed with him before I unbuckled the seatbelt and started to get out. "Well, thanks for the ride, Edward. And, I'm glad we're trying this friends thing out," I said, calmly. "We should talk again, soon."

"Tomorrow," he told me. "Sit with me at lunch and we can talk some more."

"Alright," I said, smiling, which earned me a smile back. I dug my keys out of the pocket of my coat and tossed them to him. "You better hurry with that truck. Charlie will be home in three hours."

"That's plenty of time, Rio," he told me. "I could compose an entire symphony in three hours."

"Just get my truck, smart ass," I said, smiling my head off. "Goodbye Edward."

"Goodbye Rio."

He pulled out of the driveway and I still had a smile on my face the while time, which made me feel stupid.


	2. Twilight II

Author's Note: WOO! I'm happy to see that I got quite a bit of support so far. I hope you guys continue to support the story. Here is this month's update, just in time for Eclipse coming out on dvd, which i'm planning on getting! hehe. Taylor's abs...YUMMMMMM! Haha. Well, I hope you guys like the chapter. Read and review!

**Scary Stories:**

I was still in shock from what had happened that day. Edward and I actually had a civilized conversation, he carried me to the nurse's office, and he brought me home in his car. It was all a little too much for me to process at the moment so I had to sit down in Charlie's recliner, while everything replayed in my head. It was still hard to believe that I actually spent a good portion of the day with him, especially since Edward didn't exactly do this with anyone.

Maybe I was just far more special then I gave myself credit for. There was also the possibility that this was all just a game for him since he did say he might be the villain. But what type of villain is he? And what is this story exactly? It's not like I know that much about him. In fact, I knew nothing about him. I couldn't even say I knew something as simple as his favorite color or his birthday.

While lounging around in the recliner, I didn't even hear Charlie pull up into the driveway. It wasn't until he opened the door that I felt like I was in trouble. I forgot all about the truck, there was no way that Edward could've gotten in here in time. It must've been only a half an hour since he dropped me off, if that.

"Hey Rio," Charlie said, cheerfully. "How was school?"

"Great," I said, he didn't sound like he knew anything. "They were having us take a blood test so I passed out and went to the nurse's office."

The concern father look instantly flashed across Charlie's face as he rushed over to my side. I probably shouldn't have said anything about passing out because Charlie was all over me as soon as the words left my mouth. "Are you okay, Rio?" he asked. "Do I need to take you to the hospital? It's not because of the accident, was it?"

I shook my head, trying to neutralize the fear that was obviously present. I managed to calm Charlie down enough so that I could get a sentence out before he threatened to call mom. "Everything's fine," I told him. "You know I just get dizzy around blood. It's no big deal really, even the nurse said I was totally fine. I just needed to rest for a bit."

"Well, that's good then," Charlie said, looking fairly relieved. "It's a good thing it's Friday then. You have the entire weekend to rest up. Don't worry about dinner tonight either, I was thinking we just order some pizza. You've been spoiling me way too much; I think I should start feeding you like a proper teenager."

"Pizza sounds great," I told him. "I also have something to ask you. Some of the kids from school are going to the La Push beach next week and they invited me to go with them. Is it alright if I go with them?"

"Who's going?" Charlie said, doing the natural parental interrogation.

"Well, Mike Newton invited me," I told him. "He's sort of the master mind behind all of this. Also, Jessica is coming, so is Angela, a bunch of Mike's friends, and I think Tyler too."

"The kid that almost killed you?" exclaimed Charlie. "Please tell me that he's not driving."

"I hope not," I told him. "If he is then I'm making sure I'm not riding with him."

Charlie nodded his head, clearly liking the response I gave him. He went over to the phone and started to dial the number for the pizza. "Well, I guess you can go, Rio," he said. "I know Newton's family, so I know he is a good kid and will watch out for you. Just promise that you'll be careful, while you're there. There are lots of jagged rocks by the water."

"No problem pops," I told him as I got up from the recliner. "Don't forget to order a pepperoni and bacon for me!" Charlie just said he would as I went up the stairs to go to my room. I closed the door carefully before running out to my window to see that my truck was in the driveway. A sigh escaped from me, I guess Edward did get it here in time, but where were my keys? I turned to my bed and saw that my keys were laying right there, which nearly startled me.

How did Edward get into my room? I knew I had my windows locked. So was that what he meant by that he was a villain, he broke into people's houses for a living? This was just a little weird for me as I decided it would be best to finish what little homework I had, while I waited for the pizza to get here.

A week went by faster then I could've thought possible.

Nothing exciting happened, other than everyone wondering why the hell I was hanging around Edward so much. It wasn't like we were really hanging out or anything. I just sat with him in Biology and talked to him. He continued to sit with his family during lunch and it wasn't like we were all over each other or anything. I guess the people here at Forks were in desperate need of a scandal, which meant they were craving a gay relationship so they had something to talk about.

That drama slowly began to settle down so when I finally made it to the sporting goods store that Mike's family owned, I was the last to arrive. I jumped out of my truck with a small, gym bag dangling from my shoulder that I liberated from Charlie. In it were a few beach things like a towel, a book, and sunscreen plus an extra sweater. It was far too cold to actually swim in the water, but it was warm enough that we could remotely enjoy the day.

Mike was waiting by his parent's SUV with the rest of our group present. He totally looked like a retriever when he saw me and came running after me. "You finally made it, Rio!" he said, cheerfully. "The others thought you just bailed on us without saying anything, but I knew you were just running a little late."

"Sorry about that," I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I forgot to charge my phone last night so I turned it off to converse the power. Sorry to keep you all in the dark."

"No big deal," said one of Jessica's meaner friends, Lauren. "Now that Rio's here, can we go already! We're losing valuable beach time." She was a royal bitch, which amazed me how Jessica could stand being in her presence. At least Angela wasn't as swayed as she quickly abandoned them and joined Mike and myself as we walked to the SUV. I also noticed Eric standing by a car with some of Mike's friends with him.

"Yeah, let's go!" Mike said, cheerfully. He pulled onto my arm, dragging me over to his SUV, which I had no choice but to follow. I guess he was still a little possessive over me and wouldn't take the damn hint that I wasn't interested. I shot Jessica a sorry look since she noticed this as well. "You're going in my car. Your dad already told my parents that there was no way in hell he was allowing you in the same car as Tyler."

"How saint-like of him," I said, shaking my head. I managed to break free from Mike long enough to head to the backseat when Mike told me that I was sitting up front with him. Sorry Jessica, I truly felt bad for her since she was hopelessly in love with Mike. I jumped into the front seat, while Lauren went into the back with Jessica, Derek, and Angela, and Bobby. Not like I knew either of the guys, but I guess this worked.

While Mike drove with the radio on full blast, I just stared out the window to see the changing scenery. Not that much changed. All I saw was a bunch of trees that seemed to go on forever. I thought we were going to the beach? Shouldn't there be fewer trees by the beach?

It took about an hour to reach the reservation then a couple of minutes later I could smell the Pacific. The trees almost vanished in an instant and soon I could see the beach. The waves were intense and wind pulled in by the sea was refreshing as I took my first steps out of the SUV. Tyler pulled his car up on Mike's side, far away from me since, no doubt, my father threatened to kill him if he drove a car anywhere near me. Not that I could complain. I wasn't a fan of dying and I didn't want to have another near-death experience so soon.

Everyone rushed out to the water, setting things up for a big bonfire. Well, not that big since there weren't that many of us, but the point was clear. I helped get the wood going so that the guys that actually knew how to light a fire could get to work. I stuck around with Jessica and Angela, getting the stuff ready to make our lunch with. I was amazed that the sun was actually present and the cold wasn't as intense as usual plus there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Mike was totally right, it was turning out to be a beautiful day.

The fire started to roar with life just as Mike decided to take some of us out for a little hike. I decided to join Mike and the others since Lauren was still present at the bonfire, somehow crowned the Queen of the Beach. More like Queen of the Bitch if you asked me. So I left with Mike and everyone else he could round up, going out for a hike.

Clearly, I wore the wrong shoes for this. My flats were good for the sand, but not so good at the rocks we were soon rocking across. I kept my distance from everyone, especially Mike, which gave Jessica a chance to move onto him. Thank God, Mike was focusing more of his attention onto her and her fake attempts at being helpless. It gave me more time to think about what was going on between Edward and me since I had no clue where we stood. Were we just acquaintances, friends, lab partners? What were we?

I lost my train of thought for a moment as I found myself nearly slipping off a rock. My entire body tensed up when I felt like a gust of wind pushed me back before I had the chance to fall. I know that sounded crazy, but it did feel like the wind actually pushed me back on my feet. I kind of shrugged it off though, but decided to linger around where I was since everyone else was going to a Rio Danger Zone.

So I just knelt down on the rock and looked down at the water below me. I saw something swimming in the water, scurrying off for the deeper waters. I poked my finger into the water, causing a brief ripple to appear on the surface. When I pulled my finger away, the water continued to ripple just as the water began to swirl into a mini whirlpool. I had to shake my head, imaging that I just saw that and when I looked back, the water was calm.

Yeah, I am completely insane. Maybe it's just the hunger getting to me, which probably meant I should hurry up and get something to eat. I let the others know that I was going to head back before I turned back to the bonfire. Hopefully, there were still some hotdogs left or maybe a couple of smores. I could use some chocolate goodness to shake off these hallucinations that I was clearly having.

When I got back to the others, I was alarmed to see that our numbers had grown rapidly. At least seven guys showed up all having darker skin then most of the kids here. Some had hair chopped short, while only a few had long, raven colored hair. I could tell that these guys were from the reservation and I was happy to see that they weren't giving us a hard time. I went over to the bonfire with Lauren giving me a bitchy stare down, while Tyler offered to get me a hotdog. I accepted his offer just to spite her and took a big bite from the hotdog as Lauren continued to glare at me.

I went over to an empty chair and sat down, stuffing my face with the hotdog. The meat, bread, and cheese helped settle down my hallucinating head as I began to stare out into the sea. I noticed that one of the reservation guys was looking at me rather intensely after Lauren announced my name with bitterness present. So, it was no secret that she didn't like me. It was all because I was something shiny and new so that made her nasty ass ancient history.

"So Rio, how was the hike?" Laruen asked.

"Exhilarating," I told her, finishing the rest of my hotdog. "You should take one. It really clears up your skin."

Tyler got a chuckle out of that one, and so did everyone but Lauren. She just squinted her eyes at me, while turning away to try and flirt with one of the guys there. I just went back to focus on the ocean when I heard one of the empty seats squeak beside me. I thought it was Mike, but I knew that he would've been loud since he would've returned with the others. So when I turned to face the obvious stranger, I was kind of surprised to see that it was one of the reservation guys who were staring at me.

I had to admit that the guy was pretty cute. He looked very boyish and had really long hair that he had tied back into a ponytail. I think he would've been cuter with shorter hair, but I just pushed that thought aside, while focusing on the smile he had on his face. It was an adorable smile that felt like a little kid smiling at you, while giving you a hug. I wanted to smile back, but I couldn't since I was trying to figure out why this psycho was smiling at me!

"Can I help you with something?" I asked him.

"Your Charlie Swan's son, right?" said the strange boy. I barely nodded my head when his smile seemed to grow a mile long. He practically jumped on his feet before leaning over to me before taking hold of my hand. "Well, I hope you didn't forget the promise that you made me. I've been saving myself all these years just for you."

"What!" I said, completely startled, wondering what the hell he was saying.

"How could you forget!" he said, frowning at me. Just what was this kid's problem? I had half the mind to knock him out, if he didn't seem so harmless and one of his friends seemed like they'd go after me next. "Come on, Rio! You have to remember. When we were seven you asked me to marry you and I said yes then we made mudpies! How could you forget that! It was a very crucial moment of my life."

Marriage! Mudpies! Wait, this oddly enough sounded very familiar to me. I was thinking back to my summers in Forks with Charlie. There were only a handful of kids that I would play with and they were Billy Black's kids, at least that's what I could remember. "Holy shit!" I said, loudly before launching myself at him to give him a hug. "You're Jacob!"

He hugged me back, locking both his arms around me. He felt oddly strong and managed to pick me up a few inches. That didn't necessarily meant that he was strong now that I thought about it, just I was very light. "Finally, he remembers me!" said Jacob Black. "Give the boy a prize. You know, I was really worried about you, Rio. I really did think you forgot all about me!"

"Sorry that it took me a moment to connect the dots," I told him. "You just kinda grew up. You're taller and not covered in mud."

"Well, at least you're not covered in mud," he said back at me.

"Very funny, Jake," I said, suddenly remembering a bit of a childhood crush I had. I remembered the summers I spent with Charlie. He'd have Billy's daughters babysit me and Jake so that they could go fishing for the weekend. Even after that, I would end up spending a few more days with the Black family. I also enjoyed the time I spent with Jacob, he was the only reason I even went to Forks most of the time, but I just had enough Forks so I completely stopped going. "Anyways, what are you guys doing here?"

"Some of the guys were going to throw a party, but it looks like you beat us here," said Jacob. "I guess we're here to crash the party then. Do you like dad's old truck? I was so amazed that he actually gave that hunk of metal up. I was beginning to think he'd try to force that piece of crap on me instead of my Rabbit."

"Don't hate on the truck, it's great," I told him. "Anyways, are you even old enough to drive yet?"

"Yes I am, especially since my dad's a handicap," he said back at me. "I got my license early so that I could ferry him around. So, you want to go out for a walk?"

"Sure," I told him. A random thought came across my mind as I thought about last week. Edward said that his family wasn't allowed on the reservation, so maybe I could get some answers from Jacob. He would probably know why too and he was more than willing to talk to me since he still took my fake engagement seriously. "Hey Jake, do you know why I couldn't invite Edward Cullen here?"

Apparently, I said that a little too loud because one of the other guys answered that for me. One of the bigger, scarier looking guys who wore only torn shorts and a very, thin t-shirt. He was dressed more for spring break, and this was not spring break weather. "The Cullens aren't allowed to set foot here!" he said, very angrily.

Lucky for me that Jacob came to my rescue. The dude's deep voice scared the shit out of me, which led to Jacob standing guard as he faced down the older boy. "Easy, Sam," said Jacob. He took hold of my hand and began to walk us away from the others. I could see the joy Lauren got from me getting yelled at, while Jake carried me off someplace safe.

"That was weird," I said once we were far enough.

"I'm sorry about Sam," he told me. "He can just get a little aggressive with things. But he was right about the Cullens, they aren't allowed to set foot on the reservation. It's really some old ass legend that was passed down from a couple generations back that I don't even believe in."

"What legend?" I asked.

Jacob stopped walking as we stood between the bonfire and rocks. The water continued to crash around us as he looked out to the sea now. "Don't tell anyone that I told you this though because you're an outsider," he said, softly. "But, according to legend, the Quileutes descended from wolves, and we're still brothers with them. Then there are the stories about the Cold Ones."

"Cold Ones?" I asked.

"Yup," Jacob said, still staring out to the sea. "Some of the stories of the Cold Ones are as old as the wolf legends, some are even recent. Anyways, my great-grandfather, who was the tribal elder like dad, was said to have made a treaty with them that kept them off our land. The Cold Ones are supposed to be the natural enemies of the wolves, well…actually the wolves that turn into men. You call them werewolves as for the Cold Ones, you know them as vampires."

"Are you saying vampires and werewolves are real?" I asked him. "Does this have anything to do with 'Underworld'?"

Jacob started to chuckle before shaking his head at me. "No, as far as I can tell you," he said, softly. "But back to my story, these Cold Ones were supposed to be very peaceful and civilized, so much in fact that they didn't even hunt humans. So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they stayed off our land then we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces and kill them."

"Weird," I confessed to him. "So are you trying to say that these Cold Ones are like the ancestors to the Cullens or something?"

"No," he said, his voice sounding very grave. "They're the same ones, Rio. At least, that's what the council believes. Dad refuses for us to have anything to do with them, but I don't believe in the legend though. You know, your pops gets mad at my dad because of this prejudice sometimes. The members of the tribe who know the legend refuse to go to the Forks' hospital just because of Dr. Cullen supposedly being a Cold One."

I shivered a bit since his story got to me. He turned to me, asking if he shouldn't have told me such a scary story. I tried to laugh at him and playfully to push him to prove that I was unaffected by it. But even through my lies, I couldn't help but to feel a little worried about all of this. What if the legends were true? What if Edward and his family were really vampires? But then that would make Jake and his tribe werewolves.

I just shook every thought out of my head, erasing what I heard from memory. It was almost that easy as I finally turned back to Jacob, failing to even realize that he still had my hand in his since we left the bonfire. I knew I was blushing by the way he started to chuckle at me before releasing my now warm hand. "Maybe we should get back to the others," I told him. I placed my hands in the pockets of my jeans, while looking up at him. His sweet, brown eyes looked back at me just as another smile was plastered onto his face. Damn, this kid was cute. "It's getting kind of late. We'll probably have to leave soon otherwise Charlie will coming hunting me down with guns blazing."

"I would so love to see that," Jacob said, laughing at the mental image. "I'm really glad that I got to see you again, Rio. We really should hang out again, soon!"

"That sounds like a good idea," I confessed to him. "I would like that a lot, Jake."

We returned to the bonfire just as everyone returned and started to pack up. Once all of the mess was cleared up, I said my farewell to Jacob before turning to leave with Mike and the others. I gave Jessica the honor of sitting up front with Mike, which she graciously accepted. I took her spot in the back with Angela sitting beside me. I ended up passing out on the ride back, not waking up until Angela told me that we were back in town.

* * *

**Nightmare:**

When I finally made it back home, I saw Charlie sleeping on the couch with the blanket thrown on the floor and the TV on. I went over to my charming father to turn the TV off before putting the blanket back on him. I grabbed his phone to set up his alarm that way he wouldn't be late for work. I didn't want to wake him to let him know I was home since he was completely knocked out even though it was only nine.

"Goodnight dad," I whispered at him.

"Night Rio," he mumbled in his sleep.

I couldn't help but to smirk, of course he'd still be aware if I got home or not. At least I know he's a damn good cop, not even in sleep this man could be caught off his guard. So I left Charlie's side and went upstairs to my room. When I made it upstairs, I closed the door behind me, and began to strip out of my partly sandy clothes. I dropped my shirt and jeans on the floor then went to my dresser to grab a t-shirt. My room was warm enough where I didn't need to wear bottoms, especially since I did enjoy wearing as little clothing as possible when in private.

So I crawled into my bed and got my i-Pod out. I scrolled through my lists of artists until I found this grungy, metal band that Phil was a big fan of. I played the album, finally deciding to give it a chance, before closing my eyes and drifted off to sleep. As soon as the harsh, power chords began to play, I was out like a light.

_I had an Edward related dream that night, except it was a lot more vivid and he wasn't the only star in it. The woods were my only surrounding. All I knew was fear and panic as I tried to run through the wood, lost in a foreign haze. My mind couldn't process anything that was going on and all I knew was that I was in grave danger in more ways than one. _

_Mike appeared in the woods and took hold of my hand. There was a weird, ethereal glow around him, which I found myself mesmerized by. "You need to get out of here, Rio!" he shouted. "It's not safe for you anymore. They'll only destroy your light!" I didn't have the chance to ask him what he meant and what was going on when he made me run. We started to run together, but soon his lost my hand. _

_This led to me tripping and rolling through part of the woods before I finally hit a tree. I groaned with pain, while I struggled to get up from the wet ground. "Rio!" Cautious hands took hold of me and helped me back on my feet before I was soon swept up bridal style. I looked up and saw Jacob carefully carrying me as a critical look was present on his face. He also had the same glow that Mike had, which was weird because I noticed that it was present on my skin as well. "I have to take you someplace safe," he said, fear present in his voice. "I have to protect you before they can hurt you."_

"_Protect me from what!" I asked him._

_Jacob never got a chance to answer me because he was too worried by what was coming from the woods. He released me and warned me to stand back. I could hear the rustling of someone drawing near to us too, so I hid behind Jacob as fear began to attack me. I tried to ask Jacob what was happening, but I lost all the power to speak until I finally saw him come from the woods, wearing a suit. Mike and Jacob were trying to keep me away from Edward, but for what reason?_

_Edward was glowing wildly as his eyes flashed from hazel to a bloodthirsty red. I saw him open his mouth as fangs began to grow as he looked at Jacob. "His blood is mine!" said Edward. "His blood belongs to us!"_

"_You will not touch him!" shouted Jacob. _

_In the split of a second, Jacob changed before my eyes. He became a golden-furred wolf that was larger than any wolf I've ever seen. It looked more like a bear, but I didn't feel any fear for Jacob nor did I fear for Edward. I watched as the wolf Jacob launched himself at Edward with the two beginning to battle. As I watched the fight play before me, I suddenly felt that none of this made any sense yet it held a deeper meaning that I couldn't understand._

"_Your blood will start a war," whispered someone who I couldn't see. "They will protect you, but you will be alone in the end. The enemy will try to kill you and feast off your blood, but you mustn't let them."_

_I wanted to ask the voice what they meant, but my dream came to an end when I saw Edward and Jacob kill each other. _

I woke up that morning, screaming at the top of my lungs. I ripped the headphones from my ears and practically threw myself from the bed, while taking in heavy breaths. I looked around my room, half-expecting to still be in the woods like in my dream, but that didn't happen. I was still in my room, I was back in reality.

The dream scared me half to death and it left more questions for me to try to answer. The events of yesterday were like a haze for me as I struggled to process what happened in my dream. None of this made any sense to me as I sat back down on my bed, running my hands down my face. I just had to forget about my dream for now. I needed to do something just to get away from all thinking, just for a moment.

So I grabbed some clothes and dressed rather warmly so I could take a walk. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took off for the woods. My head was so covered by a haze thicker than the usual fog that blanketed the woods. Normally, the woods would be creepy and I wouldn't set foot near them, but I just needed to leave right now.

My walk through the woods was short. It didn't take me much time to clear my head out since I slowly began to pull those weirder memories away. I don't know how I did it, but I always had a talent for suppressing unpleasant memories like many of my more awkward childhood memories. I blame the whole damn peninsula for all this freaky shit that's been going on. It has to be the water here or something because none of this would've happened back in Phoenix.

When I got back home, it was still fairly early. Not like early where the sun wasn't even out, but early in these sense that a normal teenager would be sleeping still on a Sunday. It was still morning when I got back inside the house, I walked past the kitchen without feeling any hunger, and went up to my room to start my computer. I got on the internet quicker than usual only to be bombarded with e-mails from mom. I already answered all her calls and texts, but it would probably be wise to respond to her e-mails too. So I only responded to her latest one with news about my beach trip and being reunited with Jacob. I kept it short and sent it off to her before starting what I was really planning to do.

The only memory I kept of yesterday was the Cold Ones. I started up Google, typing in information on vampires. It was just amazing how many hits I got for this. Seriously, it would take me a million years to navigate through all of this and possibly find something that would actually be remotely useful. What I did manage to narrow down were a few key "facts", if you could call them that.

"Vampires are typical indestructible and could only be destroyed by certain means," I said, reading off the page. "They feed off the blood of the living. They are immortal and have alluring features that works with their charismatic nature to lure their victims into a sense of falsehood."

I stopped reading after that, deciding that I was completely insane for even researching anything about vampires. I shut the page down and turned off my computer before leaving the room. I needed to do something that wasn't vampire related. And lucky for me that Charlie pulled up to the driveway since he apparently left work early.

Perfect timing was all that I could think.

The day ended quickly and soon enough I founded myself returning to the halls of Forks High. I started to make my way to class, walking through the parking lot to see that Edward hadn't showed up yet. I was about to make it to class without running into any of my stalkers, but Mike managed to find me and get a hold of me before I made it to freedom. I cursed my luck to whatever higher power was watching over me.

"Hey Mike," I said, trying to hurry up and get this over with.

"Hey Rio," he said, cheerfully. "What do you have planned for this weekend? There's this movie playing over at Port Angeles that you might like."

Nothing that involves you, Mike Newton, and that's what I would've said if I had the balls. But I didn't so I had to keep things polite as I turned away from Mike. "I'm going to hang out with my dad. You know, father-son bonding time," I told him. Sorry about the lie, Charlie, I just need to get out of this one. "Why don't you ask Jessica to go with you? I'm sure she's free and I think you'd have a way better time with her then you would with boring, old me."

"Oh, well, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," he said, still trying to play it cool.

I waved Mike off to head straight to class, while he went to some of his friends.

The day was almost a blur after that until I made it to lunch. Jessica told me that Mike asked her out on a date before the dance. The girl was blabbing on at about a million miles an hour so I could tell that she was clearly excited about this. She also said how her and Angela were going over to Port Angeles to go dress shopping tomorrow. I said I'd tell Charlie if I could go first then I'd get back to her on that one. She seemed terribly excited since she'd have a gay guy's opinion so she was confident that she'd find the perfect dress. I wanted to tell her that I wasn't the super fashionable gay guy, but I didn't want to burst her bubble.

When we entered the cafeteria, Edward was sitting by the table that he claimed as ours. I got something to eat before saying bye to Jessica who was still off in her own little world. I started to walk over to Edward and took a seat across from him with my apple falling off my plate. I managed to catch it before it rolled off and held it up to my face.

"So how was camping?" I asked.

"Exhilarating," he said with a smirk present on his face. "I heard you verbally smacked down Lauren.

"She's a bitch," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Somebody needed to take her down a peg before she thought she ruled the world."

Edward got a chuckle out of that, but he did agree with me. I thanked him for getting the truck back so soon since Charlie came home early. "You're welcome, Rio," he said. The way he said my name was like honey to my ears. It made me swoon way more than the awkward feeling I had when I remembered I asked Jacob to marry me. If Edward was a vampire then he defiantly had the seduction part down to the letter. "So, how was the beach? Did you have fun playing around in the water?"

"It was too cold to splash around," I said. "I did reunite with an old friend though. His name is Jacob Black, he told me some stories of his tribe."

"That sounds interesting." I noticed a slight flinch in the way Edward responded to me, but I didn't pay too much attention to it.

Lunch didn't seem to last that long for me. I barely finished eating lunch when the bell ran and we went off for biology. We didn't talk that much that day, only enough to get our lab going. We didn't have much to say that day, but I did tell him of the trip to Port Angeles that I was supposed to go on with Jessica and Angela.

Edward seemed to like the idea of me going out, but he also seemed concerned. I guess he found my ability to get into any form of mischief to be alarming and worth his concern. "Promise me that you'll be careful while you're there," Edward asked me. "I don't want to hear that you were killed by a random bicycle just because I wasn't there to stop the bicyclist from running you over. I don't want to have to worry about you dying, while I go camping."

"Your concern amazes me," I said, only finding minimal insult in that. There was plenty of truth to that though, which was the sad part. I did find ways to get into the most dangerous situations where my life would be in danger. Well, this only happened since I got to Forks and it only happened maybe two or three times. Then there were my natural clumsy habits that seemed to get my in trouble during the most awkward of moments. "I promise that I'll be careful. But really, how much trouble can I get in while dress shopping? I won't even be putting the dresses on so it's not like I'd pin myself to death."

"Just please, humor me," he said, only finding minimal joy in this. "I'm serious, Rio. I want you to be very careful."

"I promise, Edward," I told him just as the bell rang.

I said goodbye to Edward and finished the rest of my day with a bang. When I got home, I started on dinner and waited for Charlie to hurry up and get home. When he finally did though, I told him about the Port Angeles trip, which he agreed to without any trouble. He was happy to see me going out with friends since mom informed him that I wasn't a social butterfly back home.

Charlie didn't give me any lip about being careful. Well, at least not in the sense that Edward was concerned. Charlie just gave me the typical parental rundown, the usual: stay with the girls, don't do anything stupid, and look both ways before crossing the street. I had to laugh a little as I promised him that I would be very careful.

The rest of day ended in a flesh and so did the next one. I met Jessica and Angela in the parking lot with a game plan already ready for the day. Jessica was going to drop Angela off at her house so she can change really quick. Then they would meet me at my house where they'd pick me off so we can take off in Jessica's car.

After school, I raced home to change out of my clothes. I got into something a little more comfortable that wasn't stained with my sweat since we didn't dress out today. I quickly applied some deodorant and sprayed some cologne. When that was done, I grabbed my wallet and my phone before running downstairs just in time because Jessica arrived.

I made sure to lock the door before jumping into her car with Jessica speeding off so we'd make it to Port Angeles with plenty of time to spare since it was almost an hour and a half drive.

* * *

**Port Angeles:**

The road trip was actually fun. We listened to cheesy music, screaming along with the lyrics at the top of our lungs, while talking about the usual gossip around school. Of course, one of the hottest topics there had to be what was going on between Edward and me. Jessica was just dying to know the juicy details and she was infecting Angela with her own curiosity. I tried to put it down by saying that we were just friends and if there was anything else between us then I was completely unaware of it.

That last part seemed to settle their schoolgirl curiosity just in time for us to reach the borders of Port Angeles. Lucky for me too that Britney Spears came on the radio, proving to be an excellent distraction. We all began to sing along with the lyrics to "Stronger". You gotta love Mama Spears, I don't know if it was the gay thing, but I just loved her crazy ass.

Well, we reached town and Jessica parked at a strip of stores. She told me that the dress shops and shoe stores that they were going to where all here so it would be easy to hop from store to store. I was grateful for that at least as I followed them into the first store and got to work in helping them pick out something to ware.

Like I said before, I wasn't Mr. Fashionable so I could only do so much for them. I managed to pick out a vintage looking dress that Angela loved and it just so happened to be in her size so she raced to the dressing room to try it on. Jessica was a little more complicated than that. She wasn't into the classy, vintage look. She was more of a wannabe Jessica Alba, so I needed to think of sexy Hollywood bombshell. I think I found something promising. It turned out to be a vivacious, red dress that I handed over to Jessica, which she found to be promising.

Angela had just come back from the dressing room, looking simply marvelous in her dress. She had a smile plastered on her face as she announced that this was the dress she wanted to wear. Jessica agreed that it looked good on her and that Eric would love it before she went off to the rooms to try her dress on. I agreed with Jessica, telling Angela that she looked like a little princess.

"Thanks Rio," she said, smiling. "I so owe you for finding this dress for me."

"No big deal," I told her. "It's really pretty outside, do the Cullens have a fascination with skipping school when it's nice out?"

"Oh yeah," she told me, while modeling for herself in a mirror. "Whenever it's really nice out, Dr. Cullen checks all the kids out of school and goes camping. They're really into nature apparently, I wouldn't be surprised if they lived in a mansion in the middle of the forest."

I started to laugh, finding that to be remotely humorous just when Jessica returned with the red dress on. Our jaws dropped as we looked at her. So apparently I picked out THE dress for her since she looked like she just gave Jessica Alba a run for her money. Maybe I was better at this gay eye for the straight girl thing then I gave myself credit for. Maybe I should be a fashion consultant since I was so damn good at it.

"Mike Newton won't be able to keep his hands off of me," laughed Jessica. "Now, we just need to get shoes to match with our sexy dresses."

Angela started to laugh, her curls falling over her face before she nodded her head. Her glasses slipped off her face and I managed to catch them before she made a complete fool of herself. I told the girls to hurry up and change back into the clothes so we could get to shoe shopping next. They hurried up to change then paid for their dresses. We went back to the car first though and placed the dresses in the trunk so that they didn't have to be carried all over the place.

I noticed that it was starting to get a little late and there was this bookstore that I wanted to check out before we left. I knew it wouldn't be open much longer and the girls would be shopping for shoes forever. So without thinking about the promise I made to Edward, I told the girls that I was going to head to the bookstore to check out a couple of books. They offered to come with me, but I assured them that I would be fine on my own.

Jessica pointed at the direction of the bookstore and told me which street to turn on. I waved them both off before making my journey just as a cold breeze blew in. I didn't pay that much attention to it, figuring that my flannel shirt and the long-sleeve I wore underneath would keep me plenty warm. I started to traverse through the streets until I finally made it to the bookstore that Jessica told me about.

The place honestly looked more like an occult shop. I saw the Evil Eye or Hand of Fatima or whatever it was called pinned up on one of the windows. The place looked a little dark and I had to assume that it was closed until I saw this shriveled up, old lady pop out from out of nowhere. I nearly screamed because she scared my snooping ass, but I managed to restrain myself from screaming like a little girl. However, I did decide to ditch this place because occult shops kind of freaked me out and I didn't want to tempt The Powers That Be by entering it.

So I decided to try finding another bookshop since I knew there was a second one. Hopefully this one would be a little less creepy and more like the bookstores I was used to going to back home. Yes, one that had a Starbucks coffee built in and Wi-Fi, perhaps. I kept all these hopeful thoughts in mind as I began to wander around town like a total idiot. I was so much an idiot that in fact I left the glamorous tourist strip for a creepy, crack house ghetto that kind of put me on edge. Every town had to have one, the bad side that nobody wanted to go to. Phoenix had plenty of them and I knew that I had defiantly made the wrong turn.

The sun was gone and it was started to get a little cloudy. The few working streetlights were starting to come on, which I thought was a little creepy since I could hear faint buzzing. "If this was a horror movie," I told myself, "I would be the first one to die. Yup, this is the part where the slasher comes out to chop me up into bits." I continued to wander around until I just gave up and told myself that I was completely lost. I looked around for any sign of navigating through before I decided just to walk back to start.

I turned around and began to make my way up the hill that I came down from. That's when I saw just how much trouble I was in. I saw a group of guys standing at the very top, blocking my way, so I tried to cross from the opposite end of the street. I paid no mind to them, knowing better then to look them in the eye as I hoped that they paid attention to me. Like I said before, the higher powers weren't on my side. Footsteps told me that they were following me, not chasing, but following me, which I knew wasn't a good sign. I couldn't go back to Jessica and Angela if they would keep following me, I had to lose them for all our safety.

Doing the typical thing, I tried to shake them off by making turns on streets that I knew absolutely nothing about. What I did this, thoughts popped into my brain about what I could do to defend myself if I got in trouble. Damn me for not paying more attention to those self-defense mom had made take when I was thirteen. The best thing I could do was kick them in their jewels and hope that worked since I didn't have the pepper spray that Charlie gave me since I couldn't be trust with a gun. A nice scream would work too, I've always been told that I could wake the dead with one of my screams. Wait, maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea after all.

I kept trying to shake the guys off before I finally couldn't hear them following me. I sighed with relief before thanking God that I made it out of there okay. I could see the lights from the strip calling me back to the mother ship so I started to follow the lights when I started to hear several footsteps, again. I practically gave up walking before I turned around to see the guys that I tried so hard to lose, find me all over again.

"Fuck," I mumbled under my breath.

"Are you lost, boy?" one of the guys asked, while the others chuckled. None of them looked like they showered in the past day and they all smelled a little drunk. They were all scruffy and their clothes were dirty like they had just got back from work. "We could help you find your way back home."

There were about five of them, at least that's what I thought since I was too busy panicking to really pay much attention. I just kept taking a few steps back and tried to formulate an escape plan when I saw that one of the guy's had a knife. That was a very bad sign and I could tell that they saw the fear present on my face. I was going to die and no doubt they would try to rape me or something equally horrible before then.

Doing the only thing I knew I could do, I took in all the air I could before they could catch me. I let out the air I collected and gave the loudest scream that I could muster up. I screamed for help at the very top of my lungs with my eyes sealed shut with an inhuman pitch that freaked me out. I swear that I even heard glass shattering in the distance, but that just had to be exaggeration on my part. When I finally stopped screaming and opened my eyes, I saw that the guys were holding onto their ears and I could see they were all red-faced with their veins popping out.

"What the fuck was that!" shouted one of the guys.

"I can't hear!" said another. "I can't hear anything but a ringing."

Wow, I had to give myself credit for doing that. I turned to run as fast as I could, but I ended up tripping because one of the guys grabbed me by my ankle. I manage to avoid bleeding since my layers of clothes protected me from the blunt of the landing. I tried to shake him off and was about to scream again when I heard a car coming. The screech of tires against the road was joy to my ears with the bright headlights blinding the guys as I managed to kick the psycho away from me.

I had just got up on my feet when I heard the driver call my name. But how did he know my name and why did his voice sound so familiar? While I asked myself this question, the driver already ran to my side and that's when I saw that it was Edward who just rescued me. For a moment, I was completely speechless and lost in thought.

"Rio, get in the car!" Edward growled at me.

I simply nodded my head as I returned to reality and ran to the Volvo. Edward remained behind with a look in his eyes that said he would kill these men, which was something I couldn't let him do. I yelled at him to come into the car, but he remained frozen. I called his name again, begging him to get back in the car as I stuck my head out the window. That seemed to calm him down and within seconds, he was back in the car and hauled ass away from these bastards.

My entire body was frozen with fear and I tried everything I could from passing out right there. I couldn't believe that whatever was going to happen almost happened. Then there was my scream which actually did some damage to those guys. Then there was Edward coming to my rescue, which didn't make sense since he was supposed to be camping with his family!

The haze was still working through my head as Edward sped away from them. It was like what happened was almost a nightmare, but the look of rage on his face told me that it was very real. I was nearly…I don't even want to think about what could've happened. I tried to open my mouth to say something, to thank him for saving my life, but the words escaped me.

"Say something, Rio," Edward said, clenching his teeth shut. "I need you to distract me from going back there and tare those bastards limb from limb."

"Are you sure you're not Superman?" I asked him, trying to joke about what we talked about ages ago. Edward seemed to find that a little amusing. At least he wasn't clenching his teeth anymore, but he was about to crush the steering wheel unless something was done. "I really owe you for saving me. I thought I was a goner."

"You're lucky that I made it on time," he told me.

I nodded my head, seeing that the rage was slowly brewing again. I placed my hand on his arm and tried my best to calm him down. "You wouldn't want to be exposed as a whatever you are," I told him. "Please, don't do anything reckless because of me."

"It's hard not to when you're such a magnet for danger," he said. "What were you thinking, Rio? Do you have any idea what those men planned to do to you? I can't even tell you all the thoughts I could hear from their heads! If I had been even a second late…"

"You weren't so let's try not to worry so much about that," I said, trying to sound calm about the whole thing. I figured my calmness would counteract his rage, but that clearly wasn't working as well as I planned since I could feel the tenseness in his muscles. "You saved me and they're probably still complaining about the ringing in their ears that I gave them so let's just forget this ever happened."

"Ringing?" he asked, sounding slightly confused. "That was you then, you were the one who screamed? I recognized your voice, but the pitch was too inhuman that I couldn't believe it was you."

"You're not the only one who is a freak, apparently," I said, going back to the whole him being a whatever. "It seems I can scream so loud that I give people migraines. Speaking of migraines, Jessica and Angela are probably waiting for me. We were supposed to eat dinner together…and they're probably worried sick since I missed all of their calls."

Edward gave a soft sigh and I could feel that he was calming down, tremendously. His grip even loosened on the steering wheel and he began to slow down. "Where are they supposed to be?" he asked me. "What's the restaurant that you were supposed to meet at?"

"I don't know, some Italian restaurant," I told him.

He closed his eyes for just a second, but it felt like an eternity. Lucky for us that we were at a red light so I didn't have to worry about crashing. He opened his eyes just as the light turned green and told me that he knew where they were at. I didn't bother to ask how he knew this since I just assumed this is what of the many abilities that he wasn't telling me about since I still didn't know exactly what he was. Hell, I wasn't even sure I knew what I am. I've done too many freaky stuff lately to ever believe that I was all human.

Edward pulled into the parking lot of La Bella Italia just as Jessica and Angela were walking out of the restaurant. Both looked clearly worried and I knew I had a lot of explaining to do as I slowly began to unbuckle my seatbelt. As I turned to say goodbye, I noticed that Edward was undoing his seatbelt as well. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm taking you out to dinner," he said, simply. "You didn't think I'd let you starve, did you? Go explain what's happening to Jessica and Angela because I don't think I can handle chasing them both down without going berserk."

He didn't need to tell me twice. I quickly jumped out of the Volvo and flagged the girls down so that they knew I was still alive. Relief was present on their faces as they practically ran towards me, yelling at me for just disappearing the way that I did.

"We thought you got ran over or something when you didn't show to dinner," said Angela.

"Which is kind of why we ate without you," Jessica laughed, nervously. "Now, explain where the hell you've been!"

I couldn't speak a clear sentence since I wasn't exactly sure what to say. There was no way I was going to tell them that I was nearly…attacked by a group of men. "He was with me," Edward said, coming to my rescue once more. He stepped out of the car, moving with the grace that left the three of us breathless. Edward started to approach the two, the rage gone from his body, and a smile present on his face. "I ran into Rio and he's been keeping me company. We lost track of time and I wanted to let you both know to go on ahead. I'll take care of him and make sure he's properly fed before dropping him off."

"Oh," Jessica said, barely able to say even that. I didn't blame the girl, I was equally as speechless by just how well Edward lied. Even I believed it all to be true before I remembered what really happened. "Okay…if you're sure then, Rio. I guess we'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Angela said, adding her two sentences. "Goodnight Rio. Goodnight Edward."

"Goodnight," Edward said, still smiling as the girls left.

With the girls gone, I turned back to face Edward with a flabbergasted look on my face. I couldn't believe at just how well he lied to them with my jaw probably hanging. He started to laugh before pushing my open jaw back up. I swatted his hand away before I followed him inside of the restaurant, telling him that I wasn't hungry. He paid no attention to me though as the hostess looked up from a podium with a smile on her face.

Her attention was focused more on Edward then it was on me. She even asked if we needed a large table, but Edward just said he needed a table for two. She just shrugged it off as she led us to a booth. Once more, Edward told her that he needed a private table for two. I think she took the hint because she brought us to a small table in the abandoned section of the restaurant.

We took our seats as she told us that the server would be with us soon.

"You don't have to do this," I told Edward. "I'm perfectly fine."

"All the more reason to worry about you," he told me. "You don't know your limits, which mean somebody needs to look out for you. I'll feel better when I know that there's an adequate amount of sugar and food in you since you're refusing to go into shock."

"I'm wonderful a suppressing bad memories," I said, simply.

Our waitress showed up and took a second to marvel at Edward's beauty. I wasn't too surprised since I knew the hostess must've warned her about the hotness that was Edward. He just ordered to Cokes for us and told her that we weren't ready to order. He then forced the menu onto me just as she left to get our drinks.

He told me to pick whatever I wanted to eat. I just rolled my eyes as I slowly began to feel annoyed with my constant savior as I started to scan through the menu. Just as I found something to eat, the waitress came back with our drinks. She was ready to take our order so I asked for the mushroom ravioli.

"And you, sir?" she asked Edward.

"I'm fine," he said. "Thank you."

She left with a disappointed sigh, leaving us alone for the moment. He pushed the Coke closer towards me, which I accepted but didn't drink. "Will you please drink it?" he asked me. "Can you please do this for me?"

"Only for you," I said with half a smirk on my face. I started to drink the cold drink and downed it without even blinking twice. I guess I was a lot more thirty then I thought, which was when Edward pushed his drink towards me before taking away my empty one. "Thank you." I went slower this one since I was beginning to feel a little cold. I even shivered a bit just as our waitress came back, making a desperate attempt to get something for Edward.

He blew her off again, just asking for a refill with his polite smile. I just rolled my eyes before taking a much smaller sip from my drink. When she left, I made sure to kick him a little from underneath the table. "You really need to stop dazzling people then getting their hopes up," I told him. "It's not a very nice thing to do."

Edward bore a soft smile on his face as he leaned back against his chair. I could clearly see the fitted turtle neck he wore with the light beige leather jacket over it. "I do that a lot, don't I?" he asked like he was confused. "Do I dazzle you then, Rio?"

"Frequently," I confessed before shivering again.

"Where's your coat?" he asked me.

"In Jessica's car," I said, sadly. "I left it in there since it was still warm before I decided to have my little adventure."

He only shook his head at me, mumbling something under his breath that I couldn't catch. That's when he began to slither his way out of his jacket and handed it over to me. I accepted his kind gesture, catching his sweet scent as I began to put it on, and felt even colder for a second as it settled onto my body. That's when I finally got a good look of his body and realized that he wasn't thin, but was actually quite muscular. I guess the layers of clothes and hanging around his body did well to hide his physique. Not that he was bulging or anything, but there was plenty of muscle on his body that made me go oh.

Edward didn't say another word as the waitress returned with my food. She didn't bother to say anything to Edward as she grabbed my drink to get me a refill. Whatever hopes she had were completely dashed and Edward knew that he crushed this poor girl's dreams of romance. I could see that his eyes were light, yet he seemed a little ruder than usual.

"You're still crabby even with your eyes light," I said. He gave me a curious look, while I took a quick bite from my food. I swallowed it down before finishing my thought. "When your eyes are light like they are today, you are usually nicer. It's only when they're dark that you're really crabby and a bit temperamental, I noticed that. It's one of my many theories?"

"More theories?" he said, shaking his head. "I hope you're a little more original this time. Comic books are so last century."

"And so is that expression," I said before taking another bite. "I had a little help with these theories though since I'm not original enough to come up with them on my own. So, can I ask a few questions related to my theories?" He only nodded my head, while urging me to continue eating. I kept that end of the bargain and asked him questions between bites. "Why are you in Port Angeles?"

"Next question," he said, quickly.

Hey, he couldn't shoot me down that quickly since I was calling the shots. I dropped my fork on the plate before looking at him with a disappointed expression. "That's like the easiest question though!" I said, sounding defeated. "Fine then, explain how this gift works. How someone can just know what someone else is thinking, read their mind. I want to know how it works and how far it goes. Can you explain that to me? I promise that I can keep the secret."

Edward nodded his head as he slowly began to relax. He took a quick glance back, noticing that the waitress was busy with another table. "It seems I have no choice but to tell you. You're already more involved then you should be," he said, softly. "And this is, of course, a hypothetical scenario."

"Of course," I said. "We can even call the mind reader…Joe!"

"Fine," he said, finding that slightly amusing. "I'll talk and you eat. Now, Joe can simply read anyone's thoughts, with only ONE exception. You know, only you could manage to get into so much trouble in such a small town."

"This is supposed to be a hypothetical scenario!" I reminded him. "This is only about Joe the Mind Reader and Bob the Unlucky One."

I could tell that he wanted to laugh, but his serious face wouldn't crack this time. He only rolled his eyes at me before leaning a little closer as I continued eating. "Fine then, Bob," he said, staring me down. "I used to think you were a magnet for accidents, but you're really a magnet for trouble and catastrophes. If anything disastrous can happen then it'll happen to you. It's really tiring for one to continuously intervene to keep you alive."

"So we're dropping the Joe and Bob thing," I said, while finishing my third drink. "Thank you though. This is the second time you saved me."

"Let's avoid the third," he said, simply. "Well, I followed you to Port Angeles. I've never tried so hard to keep one person alive. I don't think anyone has tried this hard to keep someone alive."

"Haven't you watched Final Destination?" I asked him. "Maybe my number was up when you stopped the van from hitting me."

"No," he said, calmly, "it was up the first day we met. Death seems to be stalking you, Rio Swan. And it's all because I put you on his door by being involved by continuing to be around you." He ran his hand through his hair, dazzling me a little more. He turned to the window before looking back at me. "It's harder than it should be to keep track of you. It's twice as hard since I can't hear what's going on in your head so I've been watching Jessica. Her mind is easy to watch and keep tabs on, but only you could find a way to sneak out and get into trouble. When I saw that you weren't with her anymore, I tried following your scent and when that got me lost, I threw my mind out into the ether and embraced every thought in town. That's when I saw what those bustards were planning to do with you, I hurried as fast as I could, and then I heard you scream for help. It was a weird scream, I could feel something odd behind it that made my head hurt a little. And well…you know the rest. You know how it's taking every fiber of my control not to hunt them down. It was hard for me not to leave you with Angela and Jessica so I could hunt them."

I just nodded my head, feeling stupid for ever leaving in the first place. He was a hundred percent right, I was a magnet for trouble in every sense of the word. I owed Edward a lot for saving me. "I'm ready to go home now," I told him.

He turned back and asked for the check. I finished the last of my drink while trying not to display too much emotion on my face, while he paid. He didn't ask for any change, which meant that the waitress got one hell of a tip. That seemed to brighten her day as she gave him a cheery smile before wishing us both a good evening.

We left the restaurant and went to his car. I went into the passenger side and quickly put my seatbelt on since I could tell that Edward like to drive a little faster. Edward got into the driver's seat and quickly started the engine so that warmth would flood the car and keep me from freezing to death.

"It's your turn now," he said, calmly. "I have a few questions for you."

I could only wonder what he meant as he pulled out and drove us back to Forks.

* * *

**Theories:**

"Fine, but I have one more question!" I told him as we left town. "I want to know how far your mind reading powers reach, why you can't hear my thoughts, and if everyone in your family can do what you can."

He only shook his head at me, while he turned his head away from the road for a moment. "That's more than one question," he told me. "I suppose I can humor you though. My power only reaches out for a few miles, no one else in my family can read thoughts, but Alice and Jasper have other talents, and I'm not sure why I can't hear you." I noticed the serious look on his face as he really thought about that one. I guess he never met anyone quite like me. "Maybe your brain only functions like an AM frequency, but I can only listen to FM signals."

That was a little insulting a little. I could tell that was an obvious insult to my brain, which I took very seriously as I turned away from him with my eyes closed. "Jeez, thanks for saying I'm a freak then," I said, bitterly. "Sorry that my brain is very special."

"You know I didn't mean it like that."

I decided to take his word, which was when I opened my eyes and noticed just how fast we were going. My first reaction was to panic and that was exactly what I was doing. "What the hell!" I shouted, grabbing the handles.

"What?" he asked, still driving like a madman.

"You're going way too fast!" I told him. "Aren't you worried that you'll crash! It's so dark outside and…"

"Rio, I work at my best at night," he said, simply. "And this is way slower then I normally go, did you forget that I could read minds too? I can tell if there's a cop or another driver long before they even see us coming."

I ignored his lame attempt at reassuring me as I just begged him to slow down a little. He took the car down from the hundreds down to the eighties. He asked if that was better and I was honest by telling him now, but it was better than nothing. I calmed down a bit, regaining my composure before turning to face him.

I knew if I looked at the road then I would be too busy freaking out for the rest of the ride. I would be a mess and incapable of talking to him since his driving was way scarier than any psycho guy attacking me. This was the honest truth, fast drivers always got me nervous.

"Now can I ask you what your theories are?" asked Edward. "You never told me what you think I am or how did you draw inspiration for this lovely theory. Was it per chance from a book or movie?"

"It was from an old friend, Jacob Black," I said, simply. The way he reacted to hearing Jacob's name was proof enough that I was onto something. I was pretty sure that maybe Jacob's story may not be a legend after all. "He told me stories of his tribe and about the vampires that their tribe dealt with. He mentioned that it was your family that they forged a pact with. He didn't believe any of it, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe he was right."

Once the words left my mouth, I saw how Edward remained unphased by this theory. My words didn't even seem to offend him as he turned away from the road once more to look at me. "Is that what you think I am?" he asked. "Do you truly believe that I'm a vampire that everyone in my family is one?"

I could only nod my head as I began to shift a bit in the seat. I pulled my legs up a little, while my body sank deeper into his jacket. "Jacob's story was pretty convincing so I did a little research on my own about vampires," I confessed. "Almost everything I read about seemed to true and it would explain a lot about just what you are."

"Really now?" he said, still watching me as he drove without even looking at the road. I had to admit that the way he was driving made me nervous and I just wished he would fucking look at the road a little more often. "And what do you think about all of that? Doesn't it scare you to know that I'm a monster? That I'm not human?"

"It doesn't really matter," I said, softly. "You're still Edward to me."

"You're so foolish," he said, shaking his head at me as he looked back at the road. "It doesn't matter. Do you have any idea what I could do to you, Rio? I could kill you and there would be nothing you could do to stop me."

"I'd like to wager that," I said, not afraid by his lame attempt to scare me. I looked at my hands before looking back at him with a soft smirk on his face. "You heard how I scream, I'm pretty sure I could dazzle you a bit before you had the chance to kill me. To be honest with you, Edward, I'm not exactly sure I'm all human. At the beach, I almost fell, but I swore I felt a gust of wind push me back on my feet. Then I created a mini whirlpool in the water. And the day you stopped the van, I swear that I actually slowed time down. That's how I saw you, I saw you moving faster then everything else then time went back to normal as soon as you pushed me."

Once again, the words left my mouth and I didn't exactly get a reaction out of him. In fact, his face was so stony that I couldn't tell if he thought I was just crazy or if he was trying to process all of this as well. He started to shake his head before looking at me with a curious look present on his face. I held my hands together and waited for him to say something when he just took one of his hands off the steering wheel.

His cold hand touched mine and I instantly felt sparks fly between us. I could tell that he must've felt something too because he pulled his hand away the moment we touched. I tried to reach out for his hand again, but I felt myself stop before I had the chance to do so.

"Does sunlight hurt you?" I suddenly found myself asking.

"No," he said, simply. "But we can't walk in it without causing a major distraction."

"Stake to the heart? Holy water? Can you enter a person's house only with an invitation?"

"All are myths," he told me. "Are you going to ask me about drinking blood?"

"Jacob told me that you're not supposed to hunt humans," I told him. "He said that was the only reason why the treaty was made."

"He's right," he said. "We feed off of animals, if you're curious. It's not as filling, but it keeps the bloodlust at bay. My family has a little, inside joke. We call ourselves vegetarians. We live off of tofu, but we're never quite as satisfied as our fellow relatives. And this is all the more reason I should stay away from you. It's too dangerous for me to be around you, to get close to any human for that matter."

It was at that point I found myself filling up with raw emotion. "No!" I said, a little too loud for the cramped car. For a split second, the wind began to pick up, which caused Edward to tense up for only a moment. "You being away isn't good for me either…I feel anxious when your away. I just…I feel like a pathetic mess."

Edward just shook his head as he closed his eyes. "This is so wrong," he said, softly. "It's bad enough that I make myself miserable, but now I'm hurting you. You have to understand, Rio, this can only end terribly for the both of us. One way or another, you will get hurt and in turn I will be hurt."

"Don't you remember, it doesn't matter to me!" I shouted, tears beginning to build up. I had to look away from him, hiding my face in the jacket. I felt like a total idiot for getting so emotional like this. Why was I getting so emotional for someone who could kill me in a matter of seconds?

"Tell me what you're thinking," he said, softly after he gave me a moment to think. I refused to speak to him, which was when he touched me again. His cold hand touched my shoulder as he gently pulled me to look at him. I couldn't hind the tears any longer and he saw it quickly enough. "You're crying." His finger touched my cheek and brushed some of my tears again. "I'm sorry, Rio. I just…I just never felt like this before. You brought back something human in me that should never be there in the first place."

"Just how old are you then?" I asked, my voice cracking only a little.

"Seventeen."

"And how long have you been seventeen?"

"A while…"

He left it at that just as we made it back to Forks. He turned all of the lights off as he kept his distance from my house, no doubt so Charlie wouldn't see anything. I fought to keep back all my stupid emotions as I cleaned my tears off with his coat. Once I was certain that I wouldn't cry anymore, I took his coat off since I knew Charlie would ask me questions about it.

Edward took his coat back, but didn't budge after that as he watched me carefully. I turned to look at him and tried to keep my cool so I wouldn't make a fool of myself again. "Will you be at school tomorrow?" I asked him. "School just isn't the same without you around."

"I'll be there," he said, softly. "I'll have a seat waiting for you at lunch."

I cracked a smile and thanked him. He took my hand again, this time I swore I actually saw sparks when we touched. I don't think he saw it so I barely caught it when he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. The cool feel of his lips brought chill down my spine, which I wished would never go away.

He said goodbye to me and I said it back before getting out of the car.

When I opened the door, Edward's car was already gone and didn't make even the slightest sound. I said goodbye again in my head before walking into the house. Charlie was just walking in front the kitchen with some leftover pasta on a plate. He asked if I had fun and I told him that I enjoyed myself.

My phone began to go off like crazy just then and I let him know it was Jessica. He rolled his eyes, saying that she just dropped me off and she was already stalking me. I tried to laugh as I went upstairs to answer it.

"OH MY GOD!" she practically shouted. "You and Edward Cullen, I want all the dirty details right now! What happened and since when did you two start dating!"

"Not so loud," I said, softly once I got into my room. "Listen Jess, I have to talk to you tomorrow. Can you just remember to bring my coat since I left it in your car?"

"Ah, dad listening in," she said, clearly catching the message. "You will give me all the dirty details tomorrow though, Rio Swan, or I'll tell your dad that you've been messing around with Cullen! Bye!"

"Bye," I said, hanging up the phone.

I dropped the phone on my bed then went to take a boiling, hot shower. When I stripped out of all my clothes and had the hot water going, everything seemed to go off in a million possible ways. The memory of my first encounter with Edward, him saving me, Jacob's story, my potential killing, and the ride home made my entire body freak out. Not to mention, the fact that there was something very unnatural about me was still a question in my mind that I needed to figure out. I needed to figure out just what I was and what made me so different from everyone else.

The water was beginning to get cold when I finally broke out of my trance. I had been sitting on the shower floor the whole time so I turned the water off with my foot before getting up. I went back into my room with a towel wrapped around my waist, which I soon tore off. My body was still too wet and hot to even bother putting on clothes so I just threw my naked body on the mattress.

My eyes were locked on the fan that was going off on my ceiling. I stared at it, while having an out of body experience. I didn't even feel anything as everything seemed to drift away for a moment with everything focus solely on Edward Cullen. Yes, that's where all my thoughts were focused on and I just needed to gather them so I could piece the puzzle together.

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him—and I don't know how dominate that part might be—that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

I'm in love with a vampire that wanted to drink my blood, how fucked up am I?

* * *

**Interrogations:**

When morning finally came, I felt odd as I pulled myself out from bed. I blocked the more painful events of the previous night out from my head so well that I almost thought it was all a dream. It wasn't a dream though because there was a tingle in my hand from where Edward kissed me. That's when I finally had enough motivation to get going so I could hurry up and talk with Edward again.

I got dressed in record time, which was new even for me. I had my hair fixed nicely, the bangs combed perfectly to the side, the sides perfectly flat, and the back had a little tease to it. I dressed a little nicer than usual. I had on an all-white button up that hugged me just right with fitted jeans that made my chicken legs look a little less chickeny.

"This is ridiculous," I said to myself.

As I finished getting ready, which included fixing myself breakfast, I decided that now would be a good time to get to school. I grabbed my backpack and keys just about to make it to the door when I heard a knock. That caught me off my guard a little; I had no idea at all who would be at the house so early. It couldn't be Charlie that I was certain of.

Either way, I had to open the door so I could leave. When I pulled the door open, I found myself breathless when I saw that Edward was standing there. He stood there like the godly figure he was with a cheerful smile on his face. Then there was stupid me who had my jaw hanging open, while staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.

"Good morning, Rio."

"Morning," I said, softly. "What are you doing here?"

"You wanted to talk some more," he said, simply. "So I figured it would be a good idea for me to take you to school myself. Plus, it gives me the chance to keep an eye on you to make sure nothing unforeseen happens."

"I get it, I'm a disaster magnet."

"You are," he said, smiling at me. He held his jacket up and handed it over to me. I failed to notice that he wasn't wearing a jacket, which I why I know had a better look at his chest. His long sleeve, V-neck did him justice as it showed off his perfectly muscled chest. "I didn't want you to get cold." I thanked him as I put it on, underneath my backpack.

Edward held his hand out to me and I accepted it as he began to help me out of the house. When I was through locking the door, I followed him to the Volvo where he held the door open for me. I smiled as I got in then waited until he got in and started to drive us to school.

We were silent most of the ride there until he asked why I wasn't asking my usual questions. I told him that I thought I annoyed him, but he only told me that he liked them since it gave him some insight to what I was thinking. That made me laugh a little, I guess it was hard being around the only person who's mind wasn't an open book to him.

"Where's the rest of your family?"I asked, suddenly remembering that we were alone.

"They took Rosalie's car." He shrugged as we reached the parking lot and he parked next to a sleek, red convertible. I gave it a whistle since I didn't know there was anyone that could afford it. "A very ostentatious car, don't you think? Rosalie does like to show off."

"I should've known," I said, laughing. "That's not a good car to keep your cover in. Then again, yours isn't much better."

"At least it's not red."

I gave him that one as we got out of the car. I returned his jacket to him since I was getting mine back as soon as I hunted down Jessica. He closed his eyes for a moment and told me that she was waiting by the sidewalk. I said goodbye to Edward after that then started to make my approach to Jessica.

Before I was gone though, he warned me to choose my words carefully. I told him I'd keep his secret so I went off to pick my battle with Jessica. When I reached her, I was nearly ambushed by all the questions she began to ask me. I couldn't calm her down and there was no chance of me getting my jacket back since she used her free hand to point at me as she rambled mindlessly.

"One question at a time!" I told her. "Give me back my jacket first though! I'm freezing."

Jessica tossed me my jacket back before dragging me off to the pavilion. I barely had the chance to put it on when I felt her tug on my arm. "Okay, so tell me everything that happened!" she shouted at me. "I want to hear everything that happened last night."

"There isn't much to tell," I told her.

"Did you tell him to meet you there?"

"No, it was a surprise," I told her. "We ran into each other just as I was going to the restaurant since I lost track of time at the bookstore. Then we started talking and before we knew it, I saw you two walking out. I'm sorry about worrying you."

That didn't satisfy Jessica's curiosity as her lips began to curl up. I braced myself for the next round of questions as we started to walk to class. "But he did pick you up though?" she asked me. "Are you sure nothing else happened at the restaurant though? This is like horribly disappointing."

"He picked me up, but when he dropped me off at the house…" I wasn't sure if I should tell her this, but to hell with it. I needed a girl's perspective to understand this. "When he dropped me off, he kissed my hand."

Now that seemed to peak her curiosity. She turned to me with a smile on her face and stars lit up in her eyes. "He kissed your hand?" she repeated, slowly. I nodded my head and this made her laugh a little. "He is a total gentleman…and gay! Damn, why are all the hot ones gay?"

"I don't know," I said, laughing a little.

"So do you care about him though?" she asked.

"Yeah, I suppose I do," I said, softly.

Again, this had to have interested her because the questions kept going. "And we've established that he must care for you since you're the only one he actually communicates with," she said. "So, now the question is who cares about who more?"

"I think that would be me," I confessed, without even thinking it through.

Our talk ended after that as I went off to English. When I went to my next couple of classes with Jessica, the attack resumed. She would not stop asking me questions about last night until the teacher called her out for an answer. She didn't talk much after that, which I was grateful for.

When we were on our way to lunch, I warned her that I was having lunch with him again. That made her smile in delight as we started to get our things for lunch. She told me to enjoy myself as she announced she was having a mini lunch date with Mike. I waved her off as I got my own food then made my way to Edward who was sitting at an empty table.

I took my seat across from him and left my tray to remain untouched as he did the same with his own food. "Hi," I said, softly.

"Hello," his voiced sounded a little amused and irritated, I wonder why. He pushed his tray towards me, which was nearly full of food. I guess he wasn't a fan of the little food on my plate and no doubt would be trying to force feed me. "Take whatever you want. I'm nice enough to share with you."

"Jess was right," I said, stealing his tots," you are a gentleman. I'm a little curious though; can you eat like real food?"

He just rolled his eyes at me before taking the pizza from his tray. He took a bite and swallowed it without any freaky reaction present going on. "You're curiosity outstands me," he said. He dropped the half-eaten pizza on the tray. "If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?"

"I actually did that once," I admitted, "and it wasn't too bad."

"I suppose I'm not surprised," he laughed a little. For a moment though, I could tell he wasn't really looking at me. He was looking over my shoulder, which couldn't be a good thing. Was a psycho coming to sneak up a stab me a million times? "Jessica is watching and analyzing everything we do. She'll give you a full report later, but she is pretty desperate to see a man-on-man kiss."

"Pervert," I said, shaking my head at her.

"Yes, she is," he said, softly. "There is something that's bothering me though that I'm picking up from her head." He leaned a little closer and I kept my distance as I finished my lemonade. "Do you really believe that care for me more than I care about you?"

His dark brown eyes spoke to me, making my heart stop for a moment. I had to remember that I needed to breath before I just died on the spot. "You're doing it again," I told him. "You need to stop dazzling me, I just might stop breathing."

"Oh," he said, frowning a little.

"That's not a bad thing," I reminded him. "But I think the answer you're looking for is yes, I think I care more. Just look at me, I'm so plain and ordinary, except for my talent for almost dying. Then there's you, this god-like man who could literally have anybody you want with the snap of your fingers. "

Silence soon filled our table, leaving me to wonder what was going on in his head this time. I wished I could read his mind, but I also didn't want to invade on his privacy. So I kept silent and waited for this awkward tension to finally filter out into oblivion.

Finally though, he spoke with his velvet soft voice, "You're wrong." His hand reached out to touch me on the cheek and once again I lost my breath. I controlled my breathing though as his finger grazed against my skin. "You're beautiful, if only you could see yourself the way that I do. Trust me; you're the complete opposite of ordinary. There is something so extraordinary about you that I can't see."

"What do you think I am?" I asked.

"Something magical," he said, softly. "Who knows, maybe you're an angel."

"Right," I said, laughing a little. "I doubt there would be a gay angel out there."

He agreed as he withdrew his hand from my face. I sighed with the loss of his touch, but I remained hopeful that he would touch me again. "I have a proposition for you," he said as he played with his apple. "Would you be willing to revise the Seattle trip for just a day out with me?"

I gave a sharp gasp before shaking my head as I tried to process this. There was no way that this could really be happening, I just couldn't believe it. "Are you asking me out on a date, Edward Cullen?" I asked him.

"I suppose I am," he said, smiling at me with a smile that made me believe he was human.

"Then I guess I can reschedule Seattle for you," I said, blushing. "I'd very much like to go out with you just promise to leave the fangs at home."

"I'll try," he said, trying to humor me.

As soon as the words escaped his lips, the bell began to ring and brought an end to lunch. I looked down to see that there wasn't much food left in either of our plates. I didn't know when we had the time to actually eat, but somehow we managed it.

I grabbed my stuff and got ready to take off when Edward suddenly started to walk at my side. His arm would casually bump into me and I noticed that there was a slightly pained look present on his face. I looked up at him, wondering what he was about to do when I felt his cold hand on mine. My eyes lit up as our hands touched, it felt like everyone in the cafeteria was watching us, I knew for sure that his siblings and Jessica were, and I never felt more wanted. The way his hand felt in mine was different then with Jacob. Edward's hand felt cold and full of passion, while Jacob's was warmth and safe. Either way, I liked this sensation as I gave into Edward's touch.

Edward held onto my hand as we walked together to class.


	3. Twilight III

Author's Note: I'm so excited that I've been getting so much support for the story so far! All these sweet reviews and millions of alerts make me smile! Keep them coming, everyone. P.S. because I like you all so much, starting now, there will be 2 UPDATES a month! So that means in February, I'll be done with Twilight and starting on New Moon! YAY! Haha. Read and review everyone! If you got any specific questions, feel free to send me a message! Now, enjoy! OH! P.P.S. there is a minor lime towards the end of the chapter. Just to warn you! HEHE!

**Complications:**

Edward was still holding onto my hand when we finally walked into Banner's class. Everyone was already in the class, minus the teacher though, so they all had something to watch when we came in. I saw the look of shock mixed with disappointment on half the girls' faces, Mike's was included in the mix. The other guys just looked equally shocked, but sort of disgusted by two guys holding hands as well.

I didn't care though and neither did Edward as we made our way to the back of the class. I had to admit that it was a little weird for me though. I never held onto somebody's hand for this long who wasn't my mom or Charlie. Heck, I got out of the hand holding phase at a young age, so this was completely foreign to me. It wasn't unpleasant though. I liked how Edward's cold hand felt against my warmer hand, it felt like the perfect balance between hot and cold.

Neither one of us said anything though when the bell finally rang and there was still no sign of Mr. Banner. The class was in a frenzy at this point since they decided that no teacher meant total anarchy. I just shook my head at them before turning over to Edward to see that his eyes were focused on me, which made me blush a little. I tried to look away from him, but I constantly found myself looking at him from the corner of my eye.

The class's party came to an end though when Banner finally showed up, dragging a TV cart with him. He plugged it in before turning off the lights and explaining that we were going to watch a movie on cells. Everyone groaned but shut up when he threatened to give us a test instead. That got everyone to behave so he played the boring movie that we were going to be forced to watch.

I put my head down, not bothering to listen to the movie at all. I knew the real reason why we were watching a movie. The poor teach had tons of papers to grade that he didn't have time to do elsewhere so this movie was an excuse to play catch up. So it was perfectly reasonable for me to take advantage of this and take a nap.

But Edward didn't let me go to sleep as he put his head down with a smile on his face. I wanted to say something about him watching me, but he kind of beat me to the punch. "You still dead set on going to Seattle?" he asked me.

"Pretty much," I told him. "Are you still willing to go with me? I'm pretty sure Mike might try to kill you for taking me out first."

"Technically, I already took you out on a date," he said, still smiling at me. "Did you forget about our dinner?"

I shook my head since I could still remember the taste of the pasta. It was also the night I had to pee out a million gallons of soda from my body. "It was the same night that you saved my life and I found out what you are," I said, trying not to sound too blunt. "It was the scariest yet the best night of my life, so far. Hopefully, I won't have another scary night like that again for a very, very long time."

"Hopefully that will never happen," Edward corrected me. "I don't want to have to think about you being in that kind of danger again."

"That's actually really sweet," I said, smiling back at him. "You really do care about my safety, so I think it's reasonable that I ask that you let me drive to Seattle. Your driving scares me to death."

Edward rolled his eyes at me, which was almost difficult to see in the dark classroom. "Yes because my driving is the most terrible thing out there," he said. I detected a hint of sarcasm in his voice since he was a member of a race of creatures that loved drinking human blood. He shuffled about in his lab stool, trying to get comfortable. "How about I let you drive the way up there, but I drive us back. You'll probably too tired to even realize how terrifying my driving can be by the time the day is over."

"Fair enough," I said. "If not then I'll just have to drink a bottle of Nyquil." When the words escaped me, the bell started to go off which signaled the end to another promising day. I sighed as I got up and grabbed my things, dreading that I had to go to gym next.

"Would you like me to walk you to gym?" Edward asked, politely.

Somehow, his kindness didn't seem to surprise me this time. I just smiled and nodded my head. He then grabbed his things and we started to make our way out of the room, this time we weren't holding hands though.

The sky had cleared up a bit, but not enough to worry Edward as we me our way to the gym. I kept taking in his alluring scent with every breath I took, which was making me a little light-headed at this point. Too bad that this couldn't be a day where I could just skip gym and spend the day with him. I'm not sure if the coach would appreciate me skipping another day of gym because of an "illness".

When we reached the outside doors to the gym, I said my goodbye to Edward. He said it back to me, but not before his hand reached out to touch my face. His icy hand numbed my face, startling me a bit as I felt him brush my bangs from my face. I had to honestly admit that I swooned when he touched me, and felt a little disappointed when his hand went away.

Edward said goodbye to me again before walking away, going to who knows where. I stood there for a moment, just floating in my own little world before snapping out of it to make it on time for class. I ran to the locker room and changed into the uniform before running back out just as the bell started to ring.

There were plenty of badminton racquets in a small cage with lots of birdies in container. When I joined everyone else in class, the coach explained that this was our next sport now that we were through with volleyball and basketball. I was relieved to hear this since I wasn't so terrible at badminton, and I couldn't be as destructive as I could be with other sports.

As everyone began to split up into teams, I looked around to see what slim pickings I had left. No doubt, I'd be stuck with the other sucky kids, who would be mad to be stuck with someone as terrible as me. It was a vicious cycle that I wasn't looking forward to one bit! I was about to make my way to the geeky kids who could left behind when I felt someone's hand touch my arm.

I looked back to see Mike standing there with two racquets in his hand. There was a faint smile on his face as he lifted them both up for a moment. "Want to be a team?" he asked.

"Sure," I said, softly. "You sure though? I'm pretty sure that I'll suck horrible and hold you back."

"Don't worry about it," he said, handing me a racquet. "Just try not to hit me in the head."

"No promises there, but I'll try not to."

Once everyone was paired up, the coach split the teams against each other. Mike and I were off to face everyone else in our class. He did most of the work though, which I had no problem. I only had to hit the damn bird occasionally just so that Mike could get it and score a point for us. We had some decent teamwork going on between us and even made it to one of the last rounds before finally getting bumped off by another team.

The class ended not long after that too.

I thanked Mike for putting up with me before making my way to the locker room to change. By the time I finished getting dressed and cleaned myself up, I was digging through my bag for my keys when I remembered that Edward gave me a ride. I was really hoping that he didn't forget about me and left, which would mean that I'd have a long, cold walk ahead of me.

When I left the locker room and made my way to the parking lot, Edward was standing by the cafeteria with his hand buried in his pockets. I saw two of his siblings, Rosalie and Emmett, there with him. Rosalie looked like she was yelling at him about something, while Edward just looked away from his sister. Although he wasn't getting yelled at, Emmett seemed to be annoyed by this and talked back to Rosalie which made her shut up.

The two of them left not long after that, giving me a chance to safely approach Edward without getting attacked. I didn't want to know how pissed off Rosalie could get and I had a strong feeling that she was yelling at Edward about me. I really hoped that I wasn't trying a wedge between Edward and his family. He seemed to actually be close to them, which would be a crime for me to alienate him from them.

"Hey," I said, softly. "You ready to leave?"

"Yes," Edward said, smiling as he looked up at me.

He stared to walk me to his car, holding the door open for me again. I could feel another blush coming up as I got in and waited for him to start the car. The engine roared and we left the school behind us as he drove me back home. The scenery quickly changed, we made it back to my house almost in the blink of the eye. I barely had time to process how fast we got here and I didn't even want to think how fast Edward was driving in the process.

I didn't want to get out of the car just yet. One reason was because it was just too cold, but the other was that I was way too comfortable being in here with him. I looked over towards him and saw that there were many thoughts racing across that head of his, which made me wish I could read his mind. I was grateful that his little gift didn't work on me. Nobody needs to know what goes on in my head.

"So we're going to Seattle this Saturday," I told him. "I need to figure out what to do with Charlie. He's going to be off and I told him that I was going by myself. I don't think he'd appreciate me sneaking off with your Volvo parked in the driveway."

"Don't worry about that, I won't have my car anywhere near here," he told me. "I won't be at school Friday though. Emmett and I are going for a hunt that way our trip will be a little safer."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked him. "How does going hunting make our trip safer?"

"I need to feed," he said, simply.

That was clearly a dumb question. I just nodded my head, getting what he meant. I could see how being stuck in a car with a human for a few hours, while starving was not a good thing for a vampire. Heck, it wasn't a good thing for anyone. And I'm pretty sure that a candy bar won't hold his hunger back any so it was a good idea that he should go out for a hunt.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow though, right?" I asked him. "Are you giving me a ride again?"

"Yes, I will," he said, softly, "but tomorrow, I'm the one who gets to ask the questions. You had your fun for today, tomorrow is my turn."

"Fine," I said, not knowing what I was agreeing too. "Goodbye, Edward."

"Goodbye, Rio."

I left his car and made my way to the front door and let myself in. I heard his car speeding out of the driveway until there was finally silence. No doubt, he was probably home already by how fast he liked to drive. It amazed me how Charlie hasn't busted him with like a hundred tickets. I don't know how he gets away with that. I didn't doubt that his siblings were probably speed demons too.

While waiting for tomorrow to come, I got dinner ready for us. I decided that I felt that some fried chicken was in order, which would be a nice change from fish. As the delicious scent of the cooking chicken filled my senses with hunger, I heard Charlie coming in through the front door. I was just getting ready to start the mac and cheese to when he walked in, wondering what smelled so good.

He told me that I spoiled him too much and that I was going to turn him into a diabetic by how well I cooked. I just laughed at him, while he went upstairs to change out of his uniform. I kept on cooking our dinner and thought about the millions of questions that Edward would ask me tomorrow. I somehow was expecting something villainously personal like all my weaknesses and fears that way he knew how to kill me later.

The thought escaped my mind though once I was done with dinner and we began to eat. I impressed myself by how well I made the chicken. Either that or I was just so sick of fish that anything tasted like a slice of heaven for me.

Charlie promised to clean the kitchen once we were done. He even asked me again if I was still going on my trip to Seattle on Saturday instead of the dance. I told him that I was still going, but made sure to leave out the part about Edward. Charlie still probed about the dance, but I made it clear that it was girl's choice and that I was in fact gay so none of the girls appealed to me. I also pretended that none of the guys appealed to me. Once I had him convinced, I went up to my room and got to work on my homework before going to sleep.

I didn't dream that night, I think I was too exhausted to dream.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt oddly excited to go to school for a change. I was getting ready faster than usual and was ready to go about twenty minutes earlier. I even had enough time to make myself some pancakes that I've been craving, and I had time to clean up the kitchen. I was still way ahead of myself so I sat down to watch some TV in the living room, while waiting for Edward to get here.

My wait didn't last long. I heard the Volvo pull up into the driveway and I quickly sprang to my feet, running towards the door. As soon as I opened it, Edward was already standing on the other side, ready to come get me. We said good morning to each other and I tried to probe Edward about what he did last night, but he refused to say anything.

"Not a chance," he chuckled a little. "It's my turn to ask the questions."

Ah, I almost forgot about that. I was seriously hoping that he forgot that part of our clause, but that didn't happen. "So today is your day," I said, bitterly, "what do you want to know then?" I didn't know what he would find interesting about me. I was just a plain Joe who could sometimes do some weird shit and was clumsier than any other person on the planet.

"What's your favorite color?"

I wasn't expecting such a simple and boring question to come from him. I shrugged it off though and tried to explain to him just how weird I was. "Well, I don't have a favorite color, per say," I said, swinging my arms around a bit. Why were we still standing at my doorway? He seemed to take the hint and moved so that we could get to the car, I still had to finish explaining though. "You can say that it changes daily…and it also depends on my moods. So I never have a permanent favorite color, but I will tell you now that I detest amber. It just looks like nasty pee to me."

He seemed to get a laugh out of that as we got in the car. The purr of the engine made my skin tingle for a second before he raced down the road with his invisible competition. I was afraid to ask if he was into NASCAR, who knew, he may have been a pro at some point during his long existence. Heck, he may have been Elvis! How weird would that have been? Wow, I have a super short attention span, I'm like a squirrel.

"What's your favorite today?" he asked me.

"I'd say brown." I looked down at the brown shirt I was wearing, underneath my green sweater. It was a v-neck that fitted my skinny frame nicely. It was also surprisingly warm, which was good for the unpredictable cold that would plague Forks.

"Why brown?"

"I miss brown," I confessed. "There's too much mushy, green stuff here. I spent most of my life looking at brown and now it's gone. And, I think that brown is a very warm color. I miss the warmth."

He just nodded his head at me, pulling the car into the parking lot. We stayed silent for a moment, but I could tell that he just ached to touch my hand again, which was something I felt too. I tried to touch his hand, but something in me told me not to. It was weird, but there was an odd feeling in my chest that prevented me from doing so.

That didn't stop me in the end. I reached out to touch his hand with mine. For a brief second, I saw him smile, which made me smile too and feel on top of the world. I actually made Edward Cullen smile on purpose, not because I was a dorky human.

And that's how we spent most of the day when we were together.

Edward would always fire off random questions, one after the other. It was always about such trivial things like my favorite food (pizza) or what song I just couldn't get out of my head (Monster) or even what political party I was in (Independent). The only time I was spared from his questions was the classes that I didn't have with him, which meant everything but Lunch and Biology. He would even walk me to class just so he could ambush me with more questions. I answered them, but I did notice that Rosalie and Jasper (I think) was watching us suspiciously from the shadows. The other two weren't with them, so they were clearly acting on their own, which felt a little frightening to me.

But those weird stalker feelings aside, I couldn't even think about the last time I talked so much to anyone. Not even my first day at Forks compared to the lengthy conversation we had about the reason why couldn't stand pickles. It made me feel so self-conscious; I just couldn't understand why he found all this information about me so interesting. At least he didn't ask me about any of my deeper fears, just the minor ones like snakes and an alien invasion. I watched too many alien movies when I was younger so I was pretty much scarred for life.

Oddly enough for Biology, Edward was fairly silent. He continued to quiz me up until Mr. Banner came in. When the lights went off, he scooted his stool away from me and remained silent, while I just sat there and thought about what just happened. We seemed to be doing just fine up until then. Maybe he just ran out of questions to attack me with? I guess now I know how he feels when I wouldn't stop pestering him with questions.

My day ended quicker than usual. Mike dominated the badminton court, raking us up a million wins all on his own. He didn't speak to me today though, I guess the revelation that I was "with" Edward was too much for him to handle. Hell, the school was buzzing with how chummy and possibly romantic I was with Edward. I heard there was a rumor going on that I actually moved to Forks because I bumped into him in Phoenix and decided to follow him here. Another one said that we were going to run away together after graduation and move into some expensive palace in New York.

When I ran into Edward and told him about this, he couldn't help but to laugh at how ridiculous these people were. I started to laugh with him as we made our way to his car. He held onto my hand again, which made a scandalous scene for everyone in the parking lot. I purposely shot goo-goo eyes at him just so everyone would think that I was hopelessly in love with him, which was actually true, but I couldn't say that to Edward. He seemed to like playing the game too and wrapped his arm around me when we passed Lauren and her psycho cheerleader posy.

The car ride to my house was filled with a million more questions that were so random that not even a four year old could come up with them. I couldn't even think of an answer for half of them, and he seemed to enjoy my flabbergasted expressions. He even seemed to get a laugh that I was in glee club, asking if the show had anything to do with it. I liked the show, but that wasn't the reason why I joined.

"I lost a bet," I told him, "but I actually liked it so I stayed."

"And you don't want to join the school choir here?" he asked.

"No," I said. "Regular choir is too boring and they sing too many Christian songs."

We were probably sitting in his car for at least two and a half hours. I can't even remember half of the questions that he asked me by the time I finally snapped and asked if he was done yet. I couldn't take any more questions! I felt like my brain was about to explode.

He just laughed at me though when he saw how frustrated I was. He turned his head slightly to the side before looking back at me. "I'm done for today," he said, simply, "and that's only because your father will be home soon."

"Shit!" I said, forgetting about how happy I was as I began to panic. "Shit! How late is it?"

"Twilight," Edward whispered, a soft smile on his face. We looked at the clouds above our heads; the colors in the sky that peaked through the clouds actually looked beautiful. He seemed so frozen and thoughtful and just plain happy. "This is the safest time for us to be out. The easiest...but the saddest time also. Darkness is so depressing and predictable, don't you think?'

"Darkness isn't so bad," I told him. "The stars come out at night, but it sucks that you can't see them as well here. However, darkness also brings the promise of a new day."

"That's very optimistic," he said, smiling at me. "It seems that Ilario does suit you well." I wanted to hit him, but he just kept on smiling. That defused me pretty quickly so I just rolled my eyes at him. "Anyways, unless you want to tell Charlie about Saturday, we kinda need to hurry. He'll be here in a few minutes."

I just shook my head as I started to get my things. I so did not want to have the boyfriend conversation with Charlie. "That would be a world of no," I told him. "And you wouldn't even suggest it unless you want him to start shooting at you."

"I can survive a few bullet wounds," he said. He walked me towards the door, reminding me that he wouldn't be there tomorrow. He needed to go hunting with Emmett that way I would be safe. I asked if his family was okay with this, which got a depressing response from him. "Rosalie and Jasper are the most against it, Rosalie especially. The others are confused and worried, but they're somewhat supportive of this. Emmett finds us to be very amusing."

"At least I'm not tarring you apart from them," I said, softly. "I guess we should be saying goodbye then before Charlie shows up."

Edward was about to nod his head in agreement when his face turned serious. He snapped his neck back and I would've been worried if it wasn't for him being pretty much indestructible. To make things worse, it started to pour on us in a matter of seconds. "We have another complication," he said, simply as the rain came down hard. "Someone else is coming. I need to leave now."

"Goodbye then," I said, trying to be calm, but I was obviously worried.

"Goodbye, Rio," he said, running back to his car.

His car had just pulled out of the driveway when I saw another truck coming in from the right. It didn't belong to Charlie that was for sure. When Edward's car was gone, the truck pulled into the driveway and I saw a familiar face inside of it.

Coming out from the truck was Jacob Black. I was very surprised to see him here, forgetting that I was walking out to the rain to go towards him. That's when I saw Jacob help a man into a wheelchair, an older man who looked a bit like Jacob. Enough so that I knew that he was Billy Black, which made me think back to what Jacob told me about his dad not liking the Cullens one bit.

My happy moment came to an end when I realized that Billy knew who Edward was and it was possible that he was going to tell Charlie that I was with him.

This was very bad.

* * *

**Balancing:**

I sat with Jacob and Billy in the living room, waiting for Charlie to come home. I did offer them something to eat or drink, but they humbly declined. Billy said something about him just being here to drop off some special fish to Charlie. So we pretty much just sat there in awkward silence, Jacob was nearly jumping out of his skin, and Billy was just sitting there like an all-knowing paraplegic.

When Charlie finally came in through the door, I was the first to jump on their feet. I excused myself, while I listened to how surprised Charlie was to see Billy and Jacob there. I didn't listen to anything that went on between them. I just wanted to get into the kitchen before Billy said anything about Edward; I didn't want to be around when those sparks flew. Jacob followed me, saying how he was suddenly a little thirsty now.

So Jacob and I hid in the kitchen, while Charlie talked with Billy.

"It's weird to be here again," Jacob said, leaning against the counter. "Dad and Charlie haven't talked since your accident."

That surprised me enough that I ended up spinning away from the open fridge. I looked over at Jacob with an alarmed look since I knew nothing about this. "What do you mean they haven't been talking?" I asked him. "Charlie talks about his fishing tips with your dad half the time."

"Well that hasn't happened in a while," said Jacob. "He doesn't like the fact that you went to the hospital were Dr. Cullen works at and the fact that one of his kids was there with you. The old man's paranoia finally got on Charlie's bad side that he finally told him to shut up. Your dad went on the defensive for the Cullens enough so that he said that he wouldn't speak to dad until he stopped being so prejudice against them."

Maybe I could tell Charlie about Edward after all then. It seemed that he liked them enough that they were worth defending them from a friend. "I didn't know about that," I told him. "That's strange though. I guess I'm just happy that your dad is starting to turn a new leaf though."

"He's not," said Jacob. "It's pretty obvious that he still hates the Cullens, but he's willing to play nice for Charlie. He's also worried about you though. Apparently everyone's heard about you being all chummy with one of the Cullen kids."

"Ah, I see," I said, trying to play it cool. "Well, you can't trust all the rumors you hear around town. One of them said that I actually moved here just to stalk him; another one said that I moved here because of a drug addiction and my mom could no longer control me. Oh, and there's one that says I'm a Vegan!"

"People believe in just the strangest things," he said, laughing with me.

I had to agree with him on that one as I handed a soda to him. We popped the cans almost at the same time and I noticed just how cute that Jacob looked up close. I had to brush that one out of my head though. It wasn't right to think another guy was cute when you're technically dating someone else.

Jacob and I continued to talk, waiting for Charlie and Billy to finish their reunion.

We started talking about the basics like school then moved onto what was happening in our towns. I suddenly felt like an old man who was reminiscing his childhood with an old friend. I suddenly found myself laughing when Jacob told me how poorly the repairs on his car were going. Apparently something having to do with the oil or gas kinda blew up in his face. That was going to set him back a bit until he could figure out how to get the part replaced for cheap.

"You look taller," I told Jacob, suddenly. "Can you please stop growing?"

"You have no idea how I wish I could stop growing," he said, smiling. "My joints are killing me like every day. If I don't stop growing soon then I'm going to run out of clothes to wear and have to start running around naked."

I started to poke at his own, feeling a bit of muscle underneath it. "That wouldn't be too much of a crime," I said, laughing. "At least you got some muscle on you. It could be worse. You could be a super fatty."

"Don't even joke," said Jacob. "That's like my nightmare."

We shared another laugh just as Charlie and Billy came in, letting us know that it was time to go. Jacob thanked me for the drink before he got the truck ready. Charlie said that he was going to ignore that Jacob was going to be driving without any form of license. Jacob was a little red faced because of that as he ran out of the house. I felt bad for poor Jacob.

Charlie left to change really quick, leaving me alone with Billy.

I leaned against the counter with my soda in hand. I tried not to look at Billy because I could feel the holes he was burning into my flesh. "So, thanks for dropping by, Billy," I said, trying to sound cool. "I'm sure that we'll just love this special fish."

"That's Harry Clearwater's specialty," Billy told me. He rolled into the kitchen, making me a little nervous as a braced myself for the worst. At least he hasn't told Charlie about Edward and me so far, I wouldn't need the knife that was in the rack behind me. "I need to talk to you, Rio. I heard about how close you're becoming with one of the Cullens."

"Edward," I corrected him. "His name is Edward."

"Yes, Edward," he said it like his name was acidic. "I just want you to reconsider being friendly with them. They're not who you think they are."

"And what would that be?" I asked him. "They seem harmless for a group of vegetarians."

Billy seemed to take the hint that I knew what they were. He didn't seem so surprised, oddly enough, which was a good thing. He just warned me to be careful again before rolling out just as Charlie came back down the stairs.

The two friends said their goodbyes just as Jacob came back in and said goodbye to me.

When they were gone, I couldn't help but to feel relieved.

The rest of the night flew by pretty fast as Charlie and I went our separate ways for the night.

My next day at school was pretty much an eventful blur, except for the morning. I pulled up in the parking lot in my Beast like nothing was out of the ordinary. But the kids at Forks High didn't seem to think so. They were surprised to see that I wasn't with Edward today; many assumed that he was just playing hooky, while others thought that Charlie ran him out of town.

I just ignored them all as I made my way into class. However, I was blocked from going any further by one of Edward's sisters. She was petite with short, dark hair that was spiked in a few directions. She just pranced up to me with a smile on her face, while I remembered not to freak out thanks to Edward constantly startling me in the past.

"Hello Rio," she said, happily. "I'm Alice. It's so nice to properly meet you."

"Hi Alice," I said, trying to figure out what was up. "So, Edward isn't here today? He's on his trip with Emmett, right?"

"Yup," said Alice. "He asked me to keep an eye out for you though. He wants to make sure that nothing happens while he's away. So in case anything unfortunate happens, I'll be there to bail you out of it."

"Thanks," I said, holding back my laughter. "I guess Edward is a little paranoid that I'll just get run over again without him here to protect me."

"That or tripping on the sidewalk or being struck by lightning," she told me. "So, please try not to need me and avoid anything dangerous. Edward won't let me live it down even if you just break a fingernail."

"I just love his faith in me," I said, shaking my head. "Well, thanks for the protection, Alice. I'll try and not to need it."

"That would be good," said Alice. "Goodbye, Rio."

"Goodbye," I said, watching her walk away to Jasper and Rosalie.

The rest of my day was uneventful, thankfully. I didn't need Alice's protection, which was a good thing. I survived the entire day without falling and I even managed to score the winning point for us in badminton. That surprised everyone in the gym and Mike lifted me up in a massive bear hug with a smile. I let him get away with this one since I was happy too, happy to know that I wasn't totally useless.

When I got home, I cooked the fish that Billy gave us, which was actually delicious. I think I needed to meet this Harry Clearwater and get the recipe from him. I reminded Charlie that I was leaving for Seattle tomorrow and he said how he was going to spend the day fishing will Billy and this Harry guy. I told Charlie goodnight then went to bed where I had many dreams full of Edward.

I couldn't wait until morning came and I got to spend the whole day with him.

So when morning finally came, I sprang out of bed to get ready for our trip to Seattle. Lucky for me, Charlie was long gone for his fishing trip with the guys. I quickly showered, fixed my hair, and made myself something to eat. I failed to notice what time it was by the time I finished with everything. I had just finished filling up a bottle of water when the doorbell went off, letting me know that Edward had to be here by now.

Trying to play it cool and not overexcited, I went to the door and answered it. I just played with my hair for a second before opening the door to see Edward standing there in all his perfectly glory. I honestly couldn't tell you what he was wearing because my sight was focused solely on his relaxed, topaz colored eyes.

Edward started to smile at me, which was soon followed by a soft chuckle. When I asked him what was so funny, he just pointed at me then himself. "You haven't noticed?" he said, softly. "You and I are matching."

I looked at my outfit then at his. He was right; we were matching when it came to colors. We both had on a tan jacket with white button ups and a pair of jeans to go with it. I started to join him, laughing at just how unintentionally in sync we were.

"I guess we are," I said, smiling. "That's such a couple thing for us to do."

"It is," said Edward. "I hope you don't mind, but I changed our plans. It's such a nice day out that I thought you might like to go out or a hike."

"A hike?" I said, not liking the sound of that. "I don't think I have the right shoes for that."

Edward just shook his head as he raised a pair of shoes up that he apparently had with him since he got there. "And I can quickly remedy that situation," he told me. "They're your size and they're very comfortable." He gave me the shoes, which I did have to admit they did look comfortable. I was slowly switching out from the shoes I had on for them when Edward bent down, tying my shoes for me. "Trust me, Rio, you're going to be glad I took you out for a hike instead. There's something I really want to show you."

I listened to just how sure he sounded and gave into his change of plans. A hiking trip would mean that we would be in town, which means that I needed to do something about the Beast in case Charlie showed up. "Just promise that you won't ditch me in the middle of the woods," I asked him. "We also need to do something about the Beast."

"We still have to drive to the place I want to take you," he explained. "And I promise that I'll keep you safe."

Reassured by his confidence, I followed him to my truck and started the engine. I followed his directions perfectly as he began to assault me with more questions. I tried to argue that it was my turn, but he claimed that my turn was skipped because he wasn't present yesterday. That was a total cheap trick and I wanted to hit him for it, but Edward promised that it was only temporary. He'd let me have my turn once we get to this special spot.

Eventually, I made it up to the trail that Edward wanted us to go. It was very secluded and there was no way that Charlie would find us out here, so that was reassuring. I got out of the truck, looking around at the scenery around us. It was nice, but I was expecting a little more out of Edward. We were just outside the woods with an open field around us, which was very rare to find.

It was a little disappointing.

"Is this it?" I asked him. "I'm beginning to wish we went to Seattle."

"There's more," Edward said. "We have to hike the rest of the way. I'll carry you if you're not up for all the walking. It'll take us at least an hour to do it the human way."

"Easy vamp boy," I scolded him. "Don't be dissing me, not when I can't physically do anything to hurt you. You owe me some credit for not getting killed yesterday. I kept Alice from having to jump to my rescue."

"And I thank you for succeeding in surviving one day without me," he said, smiling. "So do you want me to carry you or not?"

I gave out a dramatic sigh before placing the back of my hand against my forehead. "Oh why, Mr. Cullen," I said, faking a southern accident. "I do declare that I am too fragile and delicate to walk on my own. You need to pick me up in your strong arms and carry me."

I really shouldn't have said that.

The next thing I knew, Edward picked me up in his arms, bridal style. I gasped with shock and before I knew it, he was walking us through the woods faster than most humans ran. I, instinctively, reached out for his jacket for support. Before I could yell at him that I wasn't serious, he said that this was faster anyways and that I should just behave.

I rolled my eyes and accepted the ride. At least I wasn't going to trip all over the place and scratch up my outfit for this dumb hike. Nature was never a big deal to me, but I did have to admit that I would admire it when the time was right. While I was in Edward's arms, I paid attention to the shifting scenery. I looked up to the colossal trees that seemed like they touched the sky. I could hear Edward's feet cracking fallen twigs and kick rocks of his way. The smell was surprisingly crisp and clean, which I found very pleasant.

Edward carried me up a small path that led to this special spot he kept telling me about. It was apparently, amazingly beautiful and something I needed to see with my own, two eyes I just agreed with him to get him to shut up, while I rested my head against his solid chest. My hands were folded onto my lap as I gazed out into the woods, feeling that they looked surprisingly familiar.

"We're here," Edward said, releasing me from his arms.

He gently placed me on my feet, giving me the opportunity to freely walk on my own. I kept walking forward until I passed the last bit of trees to enter a small meadow. A familiar meadow that I felt I've seen before, but just found myself unable to place it in my memories. I had no recollection of Charlie ever taking here so that couldn't be it.

Either way though, the meadow was amazingly beautiful. There were flowers all over the place in full bloom now that spring was here. The scent drove me wild as I looked up to see that the forecast was suddenly clear and sunny. I spun around to feel the nature around me, feeling something boiling up inside of me. For the first time in my life, I felt strong.

Somehow, this meadow made me feel strong, which was very weird to me.

I turned back around to see that Edward was still standing in the woods just outside of the clearing. That's when I remembered him talking about the sunlight and how he wanted to show me something. For the many theories that were debunked, direct sunlight wouldn't kill him, it would only do something else. It was then that I understood that this was what he wanted to show me. He wanted to show me what happened when he was in the sunlight. He trusted me enough to do this for me.

And that's when I felt my heart exploding with love for Edward Cullen.

I lost my breath for a moment when I saw Edward take his jacket off. He tossed it carelessly on the ground, standing there in his crisp, button up. He slowly began to unbutton that in front of me and that was worrying me as I watched his movements, studying them. The buttons were slowly undone until they were all done. He pushed the shirt apart a bit so that his smooth chest was partly exposed. I saw that he was far more muscular then I ever thought. His muscles were perfectly developed into a strong, lean figure with abs that guys would kill for.

My attraction caused me to lip my lips for a second.

That's when it happened, that's when Edward walked into the sunlight.

Instead of bursting to flames or just nothing happening at all, Edward's skin began to glow. It was truly remarkable, his skin began to shine like diamonds, thousands of sparkling diamonds were on his skin. It made me think of Emma Frost or a go-go dancer at a gay bar, but I quickly shrugged off the comedic aspect of it and saw Edward for what his kind truly was.

An alluring killer, a beautiful killer.

He was something I was supposed to fear, but I wasn't afraid.

I was only attracted to him even more.

The two of us began to walk towards each other until we met in the middle. I touched his diamond skin, which didn't feel any different. It was still cold to the touch despite the warmth of the sun against it and the glow of these diamonds. He didn't feel any different, he still looked like the gorgeous man that I was in love with.

"You're beautiful," I whispered to him.

He looked at me for a moment, initially looking angry by what I said. I guess he wasn't a big fan of the sparkling thing, but that anger quickly changed to uncertainty. "You're glowing," he whispered to me. I just assumed that it was own diamond skin until I looked down at my own skin. He was right, I was glowing and it had nothing to do with him. "I wonder what you are, Rio Swan, because you are truly amazing."

His diamond hand touched my glowing skin and I suddenly felt myself melt against him as I lost myself in his touch.

* * *

**Confessions:**

We were lost in our own world as we continued to stand in the meadow. Edward had his hands on my waist, while mine rested against his chest. Our eyes were locked for what felt like ages. Neither one of us said anything or move even an inch. We just stood there in our shinny radiance: his diamond skin and my weird glow.

For the first time in my life, everything just felt right. It felt right to be in Edward's arms, to let me guard down to this man. It felt right to be here with him. It felt right to be standing in the meadow, it made me feel different. I could feel something in my blood coursing through me, which was weird but it made me feel complete at the same time.

"Tell me what you're thinking about," Edward whispered into my ear.

I swooned when I heard his velvet voice against my eardrum. I clung onto the fabric of his shirt before looking up to him, seeing the diamonds that reflected off his face. "Are you sure you want to know?" I asked him. "You might not like what I have to say."

"I can take it," he said, softly.

That was about all the reassurance I was going to get. There was actually two things I needed to tell Edward. One of them wouldn't affect him, but the other might provoke him. Either way, I needed to tell him this before I suffocated. "Well, I need to tell you thank you for bringing me here. Being here, I think its connecting me to…to whatever I am," I told him.

"To your non-human self?" he asked me. "I can smell it, you're not a hundred percent human. There's something else in your blood."

"Gee, thanks," I said, letting go of him. I managed to weasel out of his grasp and walked myself a few steps away from him. I shrugged out of my jacket though because I was starting to feel insanely hot. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear my boyfriend say."

Edward snuck up behind me, his hands on my arms as he held me. His cold touch against my exposed arms felt nice and distracted me from my little fit. "I didn't mean to offend you," he whispered to me. "I only meant that there's something else in your blood. Whatever it is, its supernatural, possibly even divine. You glow like a god or an angel." With my back pressed against his chest, his hand moved up to my face, touching it softly. As he touched me, I started to remember where this clearing was from.

This is where Edward made love to me in my dream, it was also where I saw him fight against the Wolf-Jacob and the voice gave me that warning.

"So, I'm you boyfriend now?" Edward asked, changing the subject and clearing my thoughts.

"Well, isn't that what you are?" I asked him. "You are my vampire boyfriend, right?" I got out of his grip again so I could turn around to face him. There was no emotion on his face, which led me to think this was the wrong thing to say. It had to be said though. I needed to tell Edward how I felt. "I mean, I'd like to think of you as my boyfriend or just something. I don't know where we stand, Edward. Are we just messing around? Are you experimenting with a human? Or do you actually care about me like I care about you? Edward, I'm in love with you."

That's when I was in for another surprise that day. Edward stepped closer to me, closing the small gap that was between us. He had one hand on my face and the other on my waist. There was still no expression on his face that could tell me what was about to happen. It was a good surprise though when he pulled his head closer to me so that his lips touched mine. It was short and sweet, the kiss was very mild and he quickly pulled away from me.

I found myself placing my fingers over where Edward just kissed me. I could still feel his cool lips against mine, which made me feel elated as I looked up towards him. I was expecting him to just as happy as I was or at least a little happy. I was expecting anything, but once more I got nothing from him.

"This shouldn't go on any further," Edward said. "You shouldn't love me. You shouldn't love someone like me, someone who can destroy you."

My heart dropped to my stomach as I heard him say this. I could already feel a tear running down my cheek just as he disappeared from sight. I heard something behind me and turned around to see that he was back in the wood. He punched a tree, making the entire thing shake, which shocked me for a second.

Edward smashed his fist into the tree again, actually putting a dent on it this time. He then ripped it off from the ground, its roots dangling underneath it. I was amazed that he could lift such a big tree, it wasn't a skyscraper like the others, but it was a good sized tree. He then tossed it aside like it was nothing, throwing it deeper into the woods until I felt the ground shake, slightly.

"You can't love me, Rio," Edward said, racing back towards me. His hands nearly touched my face, but I could see how hard he was trying to restrain himself. I could finally see something on his face, it was the look of pain. He was holding himself back, but I wondered what it was. "This won't end well for us."

"Why?" I asked, grabbing onto his hands. "Is it because you could kill me or I could expose your secret to the world?"

"It's because I have nothing to offer you," he confessed. "Even though I love you, there's nothing that I can offer you. I can't even risk touching you because I may hurt you."

He did love me, he did feel the same about me as I did him. That made my heart scream with joy as I continued to hold onto his hands. I looked at him with a smile starting to grow on my face. "You don't hurt me when you hold me and the kiss was painless," I told him. I pulled his hands down until they were now at our waists. I kept holding onto them though, refusing to let them go until I made my point. "I don't need much, Edward. All I need is just you."

"Stupid lamb," he said, showing me his defeat. He rested his forehead against mine as he crouched an inch. It was a good thing that these shoes almost evened out our height difference.

I pressed my head against his, looking into his eyes. His eyes showed defeat, but a happy defeat that made me happy too. "Stupid lion," I said back. "A lion shouldn't fall in love with his prey."

"And a lamb shouldn't fall in love with his hunter," he said back.

I held back a smile as I tilted my head up so that our lips now touched. This time, I kissed Edward, which surprised him and even myself. This kissed lasted longer with the both of us slowly giving into this thing we had between us. I wrapped my arms around Edward's back so that he had free us of his hands which were now at my waist.

We soon found ourselves on the ground with me on top of him. I got off of him and repositioned myself to his side with my head against his bare chest. He draped his arm around me so that it rested on my lower back. The both of us released a soft sigh as the clouds began to blanket the sky. I was about to suggest we leave, but he said that we would be fine here.

So that's how we spent the next two hours of our day together. Edward had his arm around me and I just laid my head on his chest. The flowers provided a soft cushion for us, but Edward still had his coat underneath us so that we had something extra soft. I was happy just be here with him, I didn't even bother to pester him with my twenty million questions.

That didn't last long because I had a big question to ask Edward that's been bothering me for a long time though.

"Where did you run off too?" I asked him.

"Run off when?" he asked me.

"When I first came to Forks," I said. "Back when my scent revolted you. Nobody saw you for a long time so I doubt you were just hiding in your crypt. You ran off somewhere, where did you go?"

I heard him exhale, something he didn't need to do but did anyways. I guess some human actions carrying on even for vampires and this action was not a good sign from my experience. It meant something bad from what I could tell, now I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.

"I went to Alaska," he confessed.

That was not what I expected to hear from him. Alaska to hide from me, damn, I guess he really didn't like me back then. "Yes because Sarah Pallin is just the coolest," I said. "Did you go hunting with her too? Or were you looking for the Fourth Kind?"

"Alaska is actually a very nice state," he told me, ignoring my last comment. "And there is another coven like ours in Alaska. They're very kind women who we think of as an extended family, cousins actually. They were into the alternative lifestyle before they even met Carlisle."

"You hung out with a coven of women just to get away from me?" I asked.

"Because I didn't want to hurt you," he said, getting a little defensive with me. "It was too dangerous for me to be around you, it still is. You don't understand, Rio, your blood draws me in like a moth to a flame. Your scent drives me completely wild, more so then it effects anyone else in my family. If I stayed when you first got here, I would've attacked you and drained you dry. It's like…"

"I'm your favorite food," I finished for him.

"No, you're much more dangerous than that," he said to me. "It's like you're a drug. You're my own, personal brand of heroin. Something I can never resist no matter how hard I try. Do you understand now, Rio?"

"I think I do," I said to him. "But if I'm so dangerous to you, why don't you just…go to rehab?"

"I did that was the point of Alaska," he said. "Now, I can be around you without wanting to feed off of you, almost. So long as you don't do anything severe like put yourself in life-threatening danger, I should be fine. I can…I can be around you. I should able to control myself without destroying us both."

"Let's test that theory then," I told him.

Once again, I surprised Edward by kissing him. I repositioned myself again and this time rested on top of his body. Edward surprised me a little by grabbing onto my waist, holding onto me tightly. Our contact sent shivers down my spine, which led to my entire by burning with desire to the point where I was embarrassed by what was in my pants. Edward didn't seem to mind though as he deepened the kiss, being the dominate kisser but not aggressive.

We kissed for what felt like ages until Edward decided to stop. He mentioned that it was time to get me home before Charlie got too suspicious of us. I looked up to the sky, seeing that it was twilight and the clouds were covering the sky. Edward was no longer shinning, but I still had my glow going on. This meadow must've been really special and I really did think that I was connected to it, but I just didn't know how.

I got back on my feet, fixed myself, and managed to get my buddy back down. I looked away from Edward though because I didn't want to deal with the embarrassment of having to look at him with a hard on. When I turned back around, his shirt was buttoned and he had his jacket back on. That was good, he was clothed now, I could deal with that.

"Come on, I'll carry you again," he told me. "I'll show you how fast I can really go."

"Super fast?" I asked as I allowed him to pick me up.

That got a smirk out of him as he kissed me for a second. Man, he was so good at leaving me breathless with every kiss. "Just keep your mouth closed at all times," he said. "I wouldn't want you to swallow any bugs. Also, close your eyes. You might get a little nauseous during the run."

"Great, that's just great," I said, hiding my face against his jacket. "Tell me when it's over."

He laughed at me again before I felt the wind beating against us as my vampire boyfriend ran through the woods.

Damn, I already wanted to throw up.

* * *

**Mind over Matter:**

The way he moved through the woods was terrifying yet amazing at the same time. Of course, I kept my eyes closed because if I did look then I'd probably throw up everywhere. I was too scared to actually look so I just kept my eyes closed and prayed that it was over soon.

My prayers were heard and I felt Edward stop running. I gave a sigh of relief as he helped me down, but my legs were too wobbly to hold me up. I nearly fell but he caught me, laughing at my human weakness. He was just asking to get slapped, but he ended up kissing me as he helped me into the truck. I was willing to forgive him this time, but next time he wouldn't be so lucky.

Edward got into the driver's seat and started up the engine. He drove us off the path and back into town where he'd drop me off at the house. I didn't bother to talk to him yet on account of me trying to put my organs back into their proper place. I think my stomach was in my throat, I was never running with Edward again!

Once I checked to make sure that everything was functioning again and I was done with my motion sickness, I looked over at Edward. He was barely paying attention to the road, he decided that I was a lot more interesting to look at. That made me a little nervous that his eyes weren't on the road, but I just had to trust his vampire senses that we'd be safe enough.

Deciding to be bold, once more, I thought up of a question I wanted to know. He never gave me a straight answer before, but I figured that now would be a good time to get some answers from him. "So, are you going to tell me when you were turned?" I asked, suddenly. "I still don't know how old you are."

"Human or actual years?" he asked me.

"Okay, what age did you die?"

"Seventeen," he told me. "I died of the Spanish Influenza at seventeen. It already killed my parents, I was dying when Carlisle turned me. He was a doctor back then too, he took care of us, making my parents' death comfortable before he finally changed me. He never turned anyone who could live, only those who were about to die with the exception of Alice and Jasper, they found us."

"So you're seventeen in human years," I said, that was a good age. If I ever did introduce him to Charlie, I could easily say he was seventeen. The best part was that it wouldn't be a lie! "But how long have you been seventeen? You're obviously younger then Carlisle, but the influenza hit numerous times."

"Chicago," he said, simply. "I was born and died in Chicago. I'm over a hundred years old, which is like being a pre-teen in the vampire community."

"That's weird," I said, thinking about it. Edward was really old, it never dawned on me before until now. He was really old. He was alive during the 1st World War. I was thinking that maybe he was from Vietnam or like the same age as Charlie, but this was like extra weird. He was like my great-grandfather old. "This is kinda weird. You're like really old."

"Is that making you reconsider being with me?"

"No!" I said, firmly. "But it does make me think about things. You are really old, I'm sorry, I'll get over it in a minute."

"What's wrong, you don't want to be my boy toy?"

"So does that make you my sugar daddy?"

I succeeded making us both laugh, defusing the tension that was building up. I was now over the age thing, which was good because I didn't want that to be an issue for us. If I just focused on his "human" age then we'd be fine, until I turned twenty then it would be awkward again. But he could pretend to be twenty, he already looked twenty-one if not older depending how he dressed.

I leaned towards him, kissing him on the cheek just as we made it back. I didn't even realize how fast he was going until I turned to see that the truck was only a few yards outside from my house. He had already shut the lights off so we were know sitting in the darkness. Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway already, which meant he would be home and expecting me soon.

"We should switch seats just in case he's at the door," I said.

He closed his eyes for a moment, probably doing his mind reading thing. He opened his eyes and just smiled at me. "The coast is clear," he said. "You're also in for a surprise when you get there. I'll give you two some alone time. I'll be back after dinner."

"Great, I don't even know what to cook," I said, dreading dinner. "I'm so sick of fish right now."

He pulled into the driveway and promised that I'd see him later. I asked how, but he said that it would be a secret. I was left wondering what he meant when I got out of the car and went into the house to see Charlie.

I entered the house and was instantly greeted by the scent of Italian. When I shouted at Charlie, he told me to come into the kitchen, which worried me a bit. As soon as I went into the kitchen, I was greeted by a full course meal waiting for me: a salad, chicken alfredo, and there was even a cake. My stomach began to roar with hunger and I was baffled that Charlie actually did this.

"You cooked?" I asked him.

"Told you I managed to survive without you here," Charlie said, smiling. "Harry's wife, Sue, helped me out though so I can't take all the credit. We got back early and I thought you deserved a special dinner."

"Thanks dad," I said, sitting down at the table as he began to serve me a plate.

Edward was right, I was in for a good surprise. Charlie and I ate our dinner, talking about our day. I explained why I didn't have any bags by saying that everything was too expensive that I would go back when things were on sale. He felt that was a reasonable response before he talked about fishing with Billy and Harry. Apparently, Jacob got roped into going too. Charlie talked with Jacob too, which led to Charlie talking about how good of a kid that Jacob was.

When we finished dinner, the both of us got to work on cleaning the kitchen. It was mostly just our dishes and putting the food away that needed to be done. Charlie finally learned that if you cook while cleaning there is a lot less of a mess to clean up at the end of the night. Maybe it was Sue who finally knocked some sense into him.

I told Charlie that I was going to take a shower before running up to my room, wondering how I really was going to see Edward again like he promised. When I got into my room, I looked around and wondered just how he planned to get in when I realized the window. I unlocked the window before sticking my head out to see if he was there.

There was no sign of Edward so I just kinda gave up on him. I decided to take a shower so I grabbed a pair of underwear and a t-shirt before running into the bathroom. The hot water worked wonders on me, I didn't realize just how cold I was after speeding the day in Edward's arms. Just thought of that was enough to get my aroused again, which I quickly had to knock out before I got out. The cold water calmed me down now, I wasn't a fan of masturbating in the shower, I always got really dizzy and nauseous when I did. I don't know why.

I said goodnight to Charlie before going back into my room. My hair was a wet mess and I had my towel wrapped around my waist since I didn't want to show off the blue briefs I was wearing to Charlie. As soon as I opened the door, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw that Edward was laying on me bed with a smile on his face without his jacket. I quickly closed and locked my door before I started to yell at him.

"You scared me half to death!" I wanted to scream at him.

"Sorry Rio," he said, still smiling. "You left the window open so I assumed it was an open invite."

I held back the rage and threw my towel on the chair without realizing that I was in my underwear. I remembered that my shirt was long enough to cover my thighs at least, but it also made it look like I wasn't wearing anything else. This is when I wished I brought those silk pajamas that my mom got me for Christmas last year with me.

I ran a hand through my wet hair, thinking about what I was supposed to do next. Edward remedied that by holding his hand out to me like he was beaconing me to come to bed with him. That was so sexy that I held back everything to keep myself from getting a hard on. I crawled into bed with Edward and soon found myself in his arms again, which felt great but it made my heart beat a mile a minute.

"You look beautiful like this," he whispered to me. "This is the real you."

"This is me in a t-shirt and underwear," I said to him. "I'm damn near naked."

"Oh really?" he said, checking me out. "I didn't even notice." He held me tighter to him and I couldn't help but to aroused by his touch. Damn teenage hormones. He didn't seem to mind at least as he looked me in the eyes. "Don't worry, male vampires still have the same problem, except we do a better job at controlling it." He started to grin before pressing us closer together. Our chests were touching each other by now and I felt something against his pants. "Well, not now though because I have the most beautiful boy in the world in my arms."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," I said, kissing him.

While we kissed, our idle hands began to wander. My hands were mostly focused on his chest, feeling the muscle through the layer of clothes on top. His hands though did a lot more wandering. One of his hands sneaked up my shirt, running up my spine, while the other hand was on my leg. That only excited me more with a gasp escaping me when his hand touched my thigh.

Soon, we were properly making out. His tongue was in my mouth and I found myself submitting myself to his touch. I pushed myself against his body, while he continued to touch me. Never before in my life have I ever wanted to be out of my clothes. I also wanted to rip Edward out of his, but I wasn't sure how he'd react to that.

He seemed to be feeling the same way as I did because he started to get out of his shirt. It fell off to the side and left him exposed to my hand. I was about to do the same with my shirt, but he stopped me. He did it instead and for a second I expected him to be grossed out by my bony chest and the hair around my belly button. But he just touched me though, his hands wandering all over my chest as he resumed kissing me.

The underwear was just killing me at this point and I was desperate to get out of them, but Edward kept stopping me everytime I tried.

"Not now," he told me. "I have to take this very slowly, Rio…I shouldn't even be going this far with you."

That was a bit of a dumb response considering the position we were in. I just shook my head though, he did have a point about this though. "Edward, do you realize what you're doing?" I asked him. "You have the police chief's son in his underwear with his father downstairs. This is like the ultimate risky situation, Charlie barging in through this door would be like the ultimate worst case scenario," I said, a bit of sarcasm present. I toned it down though for this last bit. I sat up and took hold of Edward's hand, looking him in the eyes. "You are right though, this is happening a little fast. We should slow down a little bit. We shouldn't push you too far."

"Thank you for being so reasonable," he said to me.

"But can you at least stay with me for the night?" I asked. "I know you don't sleep so it'll probably be boring for you, but I'd really like it if you stayed with me."

He just kissed me softly then nodded his head. I smiled as I threw the covers over us and he got closer to me. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close against his chest, I wish he didn't have his pants on though. Then I thought that would only lead to us fucking like animals, which would tell Charlie what was really going on in his son's room. That would be a very bad thing.

This was nice though, I was happy falling asleep in Edward's arms.

* * *

**The Cullens:**

Morning came too fast for me, but I was in for a surprise when I found that I was still in Edward's arms when I woke up. He still looked as amazing as ever, while I was sure that I looked like a mess. I rubbed the crud out of my eyes and started to get up, while all he did was just stare at me. I suddenly felt very self-conscious, checking myself out that I wasn't like covered in sweat or anything, maybe I said something really stupid while sleeping.

"You're very interesting to watch while sleeping," Edward finally said. "Did you know that you talked in your sleep?"

"Oh God!" I said, getting off of my bed. "I didn't say anything ridiculously stupid did I?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You just said that you loved me. Then you said something about space monkeys chasing you."

"Well, it's true," I said.

"About the space monkeys chasing you?"

"That I love you," I said, seeing the humorous look on his face.

I just shook my head at him before excusing myself for a while. I needed to have a very human moment, which meant that I needed some privacy in the bathroom. I picked my discarded shirt up from the floor and put it on before going out. I did my usual, morning business, but made a little more effort to smell good and fix my hair.

On a normal, Sunday morning, I wouldn't even bother to brush my hair or put deodorant on. I probably wouldn't even be up this early in the morning. I would just lounge around in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, which I wasn't so sure about doing now that Edward was here. I was beginning to feel terribly underdressed and that was something I didn't like.

When I went back into my room, I was debating with myself to get dressed when I saw that Edward was still shirtless. That silenced my need to get dressed and I just joined him again in my bed. His arm snaked its way around me and pulled me close against his chest, relaxing the bit of anxiety I had but it also led to morning wood. Like I said before, damn hormones.

"You're beautiful," Edward whispered as he held onto me.

"Speak for yourself," I told him. "You're the gorgeous one in the relationship. I'm plain and human."

"There is nothing plain about you, Rio Swan," he said, kissing my cheek. "You are different from anyone else in Forks. Not even my family could compare to you." He kissed me again, brushing my bangs to the side. I felt my face burning as I pressed myself closer to him. "I want you to meet my family."

And the morning wood was gone. I pulled my head away from his chest to look him straight in the eyes with a baffled look probably on my face. "You want me to what!" I said, loudly. It was a good thing that Charlie had to go to work this morning. I could be loud because this was like shocking! "Your family? The same family that isn't too fond of me?"

"Most of them like you," he explained to me. "While you were still asleep, I went back home for a while to tell them about you, and because Charlie was patrolling the house. He really was expecting you to sneak out for the dance." I just rolled my eyes at that. Charlie knew that I was a terrible dancer and that would only end terribly if I ever set foot on the dance floor. "Anyways, I asked if it was okay to bring you to the house today. I thought it would be proper if you met my family now that we are boyfriends. I wouldn't want them to think that you're some hussy that I was trying to hide from them."

"Yeah, don't call me a hussy again, if it's only a joke," I warned him. "You sure though? I mean, I don't even know what to wear for something like this."

"That's why I took the liberty of going through your closet and picking out an outfit," he said, softly. He turned his head to the side, pointing at the clothes that were laid perfectly on my chair. Oddly enough, he picked out the same thing that I would've gone for. "So, are you okay with meeting my family today?"

"I have to do it sooner or later," I said, biting down on my lip, "but this doesn't mean you get to meet Charlie. Let's go through one family at a time. What time do you want me over there?"

"They want to do lunch," he said, laughing a little. "I'll pick you up at noon. That should be plenty of time for you to eat and get changed. It also gives me the chance to clean up a little." We started to get up from my bed and he started walking to my window. I guess he wanted to go out of the window instead of the front door. "I'll see you later, Rio. Bye."

"Bye Edward," I said, watching as he disappeared from sight.

There was only a slight breeze to serve as the reminder that he was there. I flopped down on my bed, staring at the outfit on the chair. It was perfect, probably presentable enough to meet a family of vampires in without them going on a bloody rampage. I also just realized how comfortable he was in my room, clearly going through my wardrobe. It was almost like he been here before now.

Now that made me wonder if he's done any late night visits without me knowing.

I guess I'm going to have to ask him about that later.

So I spent the rest of my morning getting ready for Edward to come back. I showered again then blow dried my hair so that there would be some life in it before I straightened it. It took me twice as long as to finish fixing my hair since I was in need of a haircut and I wanted to look extra nice for the Cullen family. I added a bit of gel into the mix once I brushed my bangs out so that my face could be clearly seen. I did need to be as presentable as possible since this was the first time I was officially meeting his family.

I took my time fixing breakfast, not sure what lunch meant for his family. Were they going to make real food, or should I expect to be served like blood or something. That would be terribly awkward if they served me blood. It would be terrifying if they decided to use me up like a blood bank. I shrugged the thought out of my head as I finished making my waffles.

The outfit that Edward chose seemed to be perfect for the job. I had on a pair of black slacks that were fitted but not too tight. He also picked out a blue shirt that went well with the outfit. I debated with myself if I should grab a tie, but I figured that would be way too formal for this. But I did pack a small change of clothes since there was no way I was going to walk into the house dressed this nice. Charlie would only ambush with a million and a half questions.

Once I was done getting dressed, I went back downstairs to wait for Edward to show up. I sat on the sofa just waiting for any sign of him. It was almost noon and I knew that Charlie would be home later tonight. He called me, saying that there was some accident that would take ages to get cleaned up. That bought me a little more time with Edward, but I was still worried if he was going to turn out to be a no show until I heard the familiar roar of his engine.

A smirk formed on my face as I raced towards the door to meet him. By the time I opened the door, he was already standing there to pick me up. Damn, Edward looked fine. He wore black slacks like mine, but he had on a stormy, gray shirt that matched today's eyes. He stood there for a moment, a smile plastered onto his face before he leaned forward to kiss me.

"Ready to go?" he asked, his face hovering in front of mine.

"Yeah, I'm ready to meet the family," I said, nervously.

"You'll do fine," he promised as we walked to his car.

Edward pulled out of the driveway and we made our way to the road. I warned him about the accident, which his family was already prepared for. None of them were going to be out on the streets since it would be too risky for their exposure. Edward said how he was going to take the back road home since that would be safest for him.

We didn't talk much during the ride, I focused mostly on the passing scenery. He took us deeper and deeper towards the woods to the point where there wasn't even any lights out. I wondered just how far out of town his family lived in until he turned on a smooth path that led into the woods. He drove down this road until we finally made it to a house with now solid walls but large glass window everywhere, in the middle of the woods.

Somehow, I had a flashback to a bad horror movie when he finally parked into a driveway. I swallowed my nervous though as I got out of the car. Edward kept promising that I would be fine and I needed to trust him if I was going to survive this. I followed him to the door, seeing two figures passing from the glass windows.

"This is the only place where we don't have to hide," he said to me.

"I see that," I said as we finally made it to the door.

When Edward opened the door, we were quickly greeted by two figures. I recognized Dr. Cullen, looking as youthful and charming as ever in his white suit. There was an olderish woman next to him though. She was petite like Alice, wearing a white dress with reddish hair and a maternal glow around her. I just had to assume that she was his wife.

Edward smiled at them both before turning back around to me. "You remember Carlisle from the hospital," he said. I was happy he left out the part about my little accident. "This is his wife, Esme."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Rio," said Esme. "Our son has told us so much about you."

"And it's nice to see you in one piece this time," said Carlisle.

I smiled, trying to come up with an appropriate response to them. I guess this was going to be a little weirder for me then I originally expected. Lucky for me though, someone else was coming down the stairs which provide a distraction for me. It gave me a chance to compose myself until I saw that it was Alice who was running down the stairs, dressed fairly casual.

"It's so good to see you again, Rio," Alice said as she ran towards me. Soon enough I felt her arms wrap around me, locking me in a hug. I noticed the pained look on Edward's face, while seeing how nervous everyone else looked. Alice released me soon enough and just shook her head at them. "Relax, I'm good at controlling my strength. Plus, I think I would've known if I was going to accidently crush him."

"Please nobody crush me," I said, weakly.

That was weird because I actually got a laugh out of them. A human actually made a vampire family laugh, which I chalked up as a victory for me. I held back a smile as I looked around the house, seeing just how the modern house looked like it was ripped from the pages of a magazine. I also noticed that one of Edward's brothers was lingering by the stairs until Alice went back for him. His hair was curly and blond, and he was dressed up like he would normally, clearly not wanting to dress up festive.

"This is Jasper," Alice said, introducing him. "You two haven't properly met yet. Jasper, this is Rio Swan."

Jasper nodded his head and I noticed a pained look on his face. It was the same look that Edward would give me when his eyes were going dark or he was mad at me. Was this Jasper guy wanting to eat me or something? But just as I was beginning to really worry, I felt oddly calm. I guess I was just getting better at calming down my nerves.

"Nice to meet you, Rio," Jasper said.

I could detect a hint of a southern accent in his voice. At least that gave me a hint of where one of them was from. "Nice to meet you too, Jasper," I said, calmly. I looked a little to the side, expecting the other two to show up. I looked back at Edward, curious as to know where they were. "Aren't we missing a brother and a sister?"

"Rosalie is in one of her moods," Edward said. "Emmett is trying to defuse her before they join us."

"Ah," I said. "I'm guessing the reason she's in a mood is because of me?"

He just nodded his head and took my hand, while the rest of his family just stood there, watching us.

We all pretty much just stood there like idiots until Carlisle asked if he could talk to Edward for a moment. He just nodded his head, following his vampire dad into another room with Jasper following behind him. That left me alone with Esme and Alice, which didn't seem like such a bad thing. At least they didn't seem crazy or hungry, which was good because that meant I should be safe. It wasn't like they left me with Rosalie.

I wandered into their living room with the women of the family following behind me. I saw this weird wall full of a million graduation caps that I found pretty funny. There was also a cabinet full of wedding pictures that went from Carlisle and Esme to Rosalie and Emmett then Alice and Jasper. I guess vampires could have their pictures taken, I guess that was just another myth.

"You have no idea how many graduations and weddings we've been through," Alice said, appearing next to me. "Once Rosalie and Emmett graduate again, we should be going through another one of their weddings. I'm looking forward to it because Rose always lets me plan them."

"Who knows, you might be planning one for Edward next," joke Esme.

"I've been planning his wedding for years," said Alice. "I've just been waiting on the bride, but I guess I'm going to have to change it to groom."

"What!" I said, turning back to face them. "What wedding! What are you talking about?"

They both started to laugh, saying how it was only a joke. I wasn't sure if I believed them, but I tried to pretend that I did though. I sat down on the couch and waited for Edward to come back after that. I didn't need another scare like that for a long time. There was no way that I was getting married anytime soon.

I was relieved when Edward finally came back with the others. At least until I saw the worried look on his face, which only made me a little nervous. I went to his side to try and pry some answers out of him.

"Did something happen?" I asked.

Edward bit down on his lip before leaning a little closer to me. I soon felt his hands on my arms, holding onto me as he looked me straight in the eyes. "Let's just say I'm going to be very overprotective the next couple of days," he said, trying to sound clam. "We're going to have some visitors soon. They shouldn't come anywhere near town, but we need to be on guard just in case something happens."

"And these visitors aren't vegetarians, right?" I said.

"Not even the slightest," he said. "Alice can see into the incoming future. She'll know when they're coming and how close they'll come. I promise that I'll keep you safe though. Nothing will happen."

"I trust you," I said to him. "I know you won't let anything bad happen to me."

Edward nodded his head, promising that he'll protect me. We just stood there and looked into each other's eyes. I felt like my face was burning because I knew that his family was looking at us. It was a little embarrassing, but I suppose it could be worse. At least he wasn't kissing me. That would make me feel really awkward.

Our little moment ended though when Esme mentioned something about a piano. I didn't realize she was talking to me until Edward turned my attention to her. I told her that I didn't know how to play.

"My mom put me through piano lessons," I explained, "but I never had a talent for it. I don't even remember how to play a basic note."

"That's a shame," she told me. "Music is very beautiful. Edward's fantastic at playing the piano."

I turned to Edward, smacking him on the arm. A smile widened on my face as I stared him down. "Why didn't you tell me you know how to play piano?" I asked. "You made fun of me for being in glee club, but you didn't tell me about your talent."

"You never asked," Edward said.

"You were in glee club?" said Jasper.

"Why don't you play something for us," Esme said, neutralizing the situation already.

Edward just laughed as he made his way to the piano. I stood there with my arms crossed, continuing to stare him down. He only smiled at me as he took his seat and began to play. Once the first dozen notes were played, I no longer wanted to hit him. Instead, I just wanted to drown myself in the beauty of the music.

I felt myself swaying a little until Edward finally stopped playing.

He was already by my side when I finally opened my eyes. His hand touched my cheek and he was smiling at me. "I want to hear you sing," he said, softly.

"Not here," I said, mortified by the thought of singing in front of him and his family.

"Later then," he said, smiling. We both looked back and saw that none of them were in the room with us anymore. They must've went off to another room. "If it makes you feel any better, I hard you sing when you're sleeping. You have a nice voice."

"You heard that from last night?" I asked.

"No," he said, suddenly looking away from me. He ran his hand through his hair before finally looking back. He was biting on his lip again, which made me wonder what he was about to confess. "I've actually been watching you sleep for a while now…since I got back from Alaska, actually."

"You're a creepy stalker," I said, laughing at him. "No wonder you seemed so comfortable in my room. You've only been there a hundred times! Creeper!"

I smacked him on the shoulder, while he kept on laughing at me. He tried to change the subject by offering me a tour of the house. I told him that I wasn't through with the stalker thing yet, but I accepted the offer. So he took my hand and led me upstairs to show off the remainder of the house.

The house was very beautiful. All the glass window lit the place up nicely during the day, but I knew I would be terrified at night. Luckily, there were plenty of giant sized curtains to remedy that problem and lots of lights in the house to keep it bright. It was all very nice and it made me wonder just how rich they were. I didn't even want to think how old they all were. Edward was already in his hundreds, who knew how old the rest of them were.

Our tour continued until I saw an ironic site.

"Really?" I said, turning to Edward. "What kind of vampire puts a crucifix on the door? That things looks ancient."

"It's ironic, but it's part of Carlisle's human life," Edward said, holding onto me. "It's hundreds of years old. I belonged to Carlisle's father."

"How old is Carlisle then?" I asked.

The smile that crept up Edward's face was a little creepy, yet attractive. I wasn't sure if I should be afraid or worried or anything. "We just celebrated his three hundred and sixty-second birthday." Now that was old. I really wondered what Carlisle's back-story was and Edward seemed to see the curiosity in my eyes.

"Carlisle was born in London, shortly before Cromwell came to power. His mother died giving birth to him, but his father was an Anglican preacher who enjoyed persecuting Roman Catholics and other religions, while on a hunt for the evil in the world. He was on a hunt for witches, werewolves, and vampires. Of course, he only killed many innocent people, while the real monsters escaped."

"When he finally died, he passed his legacy onto Carlisle. The congregation didn't like how Carlisle wasn't quick to point fingers at evil that didn't exist. So when Carlisle organized a mob to attack a coven of vampires he found, it was then his life would change. One of the vampires attack him, killed two men, and ran off with the third. Carlisle knew what that he would be killed because he was touched by the monster, so he hid himself and stayed hidden for days until he finally changed into a vampire. It was a miracle that he survived the process without making a sound and all alone…"

I just looked at Edward, wide-eyed from the story he told me. It was very short, but it made me burn with a million questions about all of it. I wanted to know about the changing process, what happens after that…I just wanted to know about all of this.

"You have a lot of questions," Edward said, clearly knowing the inquisitive look on my face. "I can't answer them for you. You're going to need to talk to Carlisle."

"Take me to him then?" I asked.

Edward nodded his head and took my head, leading me through the door to what was Carlisle's office.


	4. Twilight IV

Author's Note: Told you that I'd have another chapter up for you lovely kiddos before the end of the month! Yay us! Well, here's the second to last chapter for Twilight. I'll be getting started on New Moon soon, which means I better hurry up and start reading! . As always, leave me some reviews. Reviews equals inspiration which leads to better chapters! If I dont have your input then I dont know if I'm doing a good job or not! So yeah! P.S. Big Lemon towards the middle. Be Warned!

Disclaimer: Not sure if I did this or not, but I own nothing! If I did, Emmett and Jacob would be completely naked for every chapter of the book and every scene in the movie! :]

**Carlisle:**

Edward gently knocked on the door, alerting Carlisle to our arrival. Although, I was pretty sure he already knew we were standing outside his door. I think Carlisle was more than able to sniff us out if he didn't already hear us talking from the other end. We heard Carlisle tell us to come in so Edward held the door open for me as we slid on in.

The office looked amazing, spacious with a very modern twist on a traditional office. It still had a lot of dark mahogany wood with the matching desk like I imagined in my head, plenty of leather furniture, there was a large bookcase against one of the walls and there were several, oil paintings hanging up as well. I whistled in appreciation of the comfy office, while Edward pointed me in the direction of Carlisle who had just hung up his phone.

"Are we interrupting anything, Carlisle?" Edward asked. "Rio wanted to learn more about your past."

"I heard you tell him the story," laughed Carlisle. He smiled at me briefly before he walked over to his desk and picked up his coat. "I'm sorry to say though that I'm needed at the hospital. Dr. Snow couldn't make it so they asked me to cover his patients for the remainder of the day. I trust that you'll tell Rio the stories, you know them almost as well as I do."

Edward got a laugh out of that, while I turned and raised an eyebrow. So the charming Edward was withholding more information from me. Why wasn't I surprised by that? I mean, I did just find out that he was a creepy nightstalker who got off on watching me sleep. Okay, so maybe it wasn't that literal, but a boy could exaggerate the truth a little.

Carlisle apologized once more as he left the office, leaving me all alone with Edward. The hormonal teenager told me to do some very inappropriate things with Edward in his "father's" office. But the common sense in me told me to keep it in my pants for now. As usual, the common sense side won and I kept everything in my pants.

Of course though, Edward didn't make it any easier for me. I was trying to focus on one of the paintings on the wall, but Edward decided that it would be fun to play with the human. His feather light touches on my arms sent chills down my spine. I nearly came in my pants from the sudden contact, but I managed to restrain myself enough to yell at Edward to tell the damn story.

"A little hostile, aren't we?" said Edward.

"Only because the vampire is trying to sexually excite the human," I told him. "So are you going to continue the story now or leave me hanging? What did Carlisle do after the change was finished?"

He laughed for a second before moving his lips to speak. "Well, after the process was complete, Carlisle went insane with trying to kill himself," he told me. "He tried everything he physically could, but it's very difficult for our kind to truly die. It's nearly impossible since we're immune to nearly every method. So Carlisle did the only thing he could effectively do…he starved himself."

"Your kind can die from starvation?" I asked.

"Possibly," Edward said. "But I've never heard of a vampire actually dying from starvation. Most cave in and attack the closest human they could find. Carlisle though, he lasted longer than others though, but it came to an end though when he wandered outside of London. While he was in the wild, he found a pack of deer that he attacked out of insane bloodlust. When his strength returned that's how he learned that he could survive off of animal blood. After that, he swam across the Channel to France."

"He swam?" I said, interrupting him.

Edward sighed as he stopped his story again. Maybe I was getting a little annoying for his tastes. "People do it all the time, Rio," he explained. "The only difference is that we don't need to breathe, unlike you. I suppose that does give us an unfair advantage though."

"You don't breathe?" Why were all these little details freaking me out all of a sudden? Did I already kind of figure this out? They were dead so why would they need to breathe? I looked over to Edward, seeing that he wasn't moving a single inch. He wasn't even breathing now so he looked seriously creepy, which worried me at this point. "What?"

"I'm waiting for you to run away, screaming," said Edward.

"Just keep going with the damn story," I said, roughly. "He swam the Channel?"

Edward nodded his head as he resumed the exciting story. I began to learn how Carlisle spent his time traveling across Europe, while attending university to study to be a doctor. Carlisle spent most of his time at hospitals since the thirst was easier to control around the sick and dying. What came next though was a little more surprising for me.

Edward guided me to another painting on the wall that held three unfamiliar men with Carlisle off to the side. The men looked ancient, but oddly mesmerizing even in painting so I just had to assume that they had to be vampires. "They are the oldest of our kind that is known," said Edward. "Marcus, Aro, and Caius. Carlisle spent some time with, a couple decades, before leaving for America. It wasn't long after he arrived that he eventually made his way to Chicago where he found me."

"That's when he turned you?" I said, softly. "While you were dying in the hospital?"

"Yes," he told me. "I already told you how he was taking care of my family during the epidemic. Carlisle had spent so many years on his own that he was craving companionship and was coming up with an idea of how to remedy that problem. He decided to put his theory to the test on me, while I was on my deathbed. I survived the process, obviously, and I have been his son ever since."

A smile crept up Edward's face as he spun over to face me. He touched my arm with his cold hand to make me look at him. "We've gone full circle now," he said, calmly. "Is there anything else that you want to know? I know that you're just burning with more questions."

"Just one for now," I said, looking up to his eyes. They were hazel now, which was a good sign. He won't tare my head off if I ask this slightly, personal question. "What did you do, after you were turned? How…how did you react to the change?"

Despite being such personal question, Edward took it rather well and was open about it. He told me that he had his streak of "teenager rebellion" during the first years of his life. He explained how he ran away from Carlisle, refusing to live his vegetarian lifestyle. I learned how he attacked criminals; thinking that he could still be the good guy even so long as he only drank from criminals. This lifestyle didn't last long for him and Carlisle welcomed him back home like the prodigal son.

Once Edward returned, Alice and Jasper followed not long after that. Esme and Rosalie were already part of their family before Edward left. Apparently while Edward was away though, Emmett joined them. And now here they were one big happy family, it the loosest way that the word family could be applied to their situation.

I took in every story that Edward told me that day, absorbing it all like a sponge. It got to the point where my head was pounding so he decided that maybe we should stop with the story time for today. I thanked him for that as I followed him out of Carlisle's office.

"Would you like to see my room?" he asked, once he closed the door.

"Sure," I whispered, losing my voice for a second.

I nervously followed Edward down the hall to where his bedroom waited for us. I gulped my nerves away, realizing that I would be seeing Edward's personal sanctuary for the first time. I couldn't believe that I was actually going into my boyfriend's room. Heck, I think I was more surprised that I even had a boyfriend whose room I could go into right now. Wait…I think I just confused myself with that last one.

When Edward opened the door, I was a little amazed to see how bare it was. The room wasn't very big, only a little bigger than mine was. There was no bed so that might've opened the space up a little more. He did have a comfy looking couch though with mountains of CDs and records all over his room. I saw an old school record player in the corner with a very expensive looking stereo next to it.

Everything was so neat though in his room, which was not what I was expecting. I somehow thought he would be a little more disorganized. But then again, not every guy was a slob; even I was a bit of a neat freak.

"It's nice," I told him.

"Thanks," he said, stepping into the sunlight that peaked in from the woods. His skin began to shine like diamonds and I found myself hypnotized by him for a moment. He noticed that I wasn't focusing on what was going on so he took advantage of this as he slowly made his way over to me. "Are you frightened by me, Rio? Do I scare you?"

"No," I said, without thinking.

That's when a very, wicked smile crept up his face. The diamonds lost their shine on his skin and soon I felt his hands holding onto my arms a little tighter than normal. "You shouldn't have said that." I could hear the hunger in his voice, which did freak me out a little. Soon enough, I found myself pinned down on the couch with Edward on top of me, holding my wrists above my head. "Do I frighten you now?"

"Yes," I squeaked. "Very scary. Now let me go before you break my wrists."

He released my hands, honestly looking a little frightened by himself. He apologized to me before kissing my cheek. I accepted his apology as we remained in the position we were in for a moment. He seemed comfortable on top of me and I didn't mind having his weight on top of me at all.

We stayed like this for a while until Edward decided that it would be best to get me home before Charlie starts asking questions.

* * *

**The Game:**

Edward took me home and we found that the house was still empty. It was barely three; I had only been in the Cullen's house for almost three hours. That was probably way more than any other guest that they may have ever had before me. Then again though, I may have been the only guest that they ever had.

I led Edward up to my room, holding his hand as we made our way up the stairs. I closed the door behind us and we made ourselves comfortable on my bed. Edward looked different, again, while he lay on my bed. He seemed comfortable, more at ease with himself then he was back home. Like with his family, he was happy and all that good stuff, but it was different when he was alone with me like this. I could see that he wasn't holding himself back like he did around them, he was a different person.

He noticed my lack of focus so he decided to pull me back into reality with a kiss. His icy, soft lips against my cheek brought a smile to my face. I pulled myself on top of him, resting my lighter body on top of his, while we stared into each other's eyes. The pull to want to be with Edward in a greater way was just too much for me to resist any longer. I needed to be with him, I had to take us to the next level.

So putting on my big boy pants, I kissed Edward, putting my tongue into his mouth. He hesitated for a moment, but he quickly returned my kiss and I soon felt his hands running down my back. The plan was working so far, I just needed to take us a little further. I broke our kiss so that I could kiss his neck while my hands worked on unbuttoning his shirt. I had barely gotten through the first two when he realized just what I was doing.

Before we could go any further, Edward took my hands and stopped me.

"We can't, Rio," he whispered to me. "It's too risky."

"I'm not scared, Edward," I told him. "I want to do this. I'm not afraid of us, of what could happen because I trust you. I know you would never hurt me."

"You don't know that," he said, softly. "I could easily hurt you."

"I think I'm a little stronger then you give me credit for," I said, keeping my calm. "We've already established that I'm not fully human. Just trust my non-human half will be strong enough to handle whatever you can do to me like how I trust you with my body."

He was thinking I could see thoughts racing across his head. I couldn't actually see those thoughts, but I just meant that he had his thinking face on. "We'll try it," he said, sounding sure of himself. "We will see how far we can take things, but if you feel even the slightest bit of pain, I will need to stop this before we go any further."

"That's all I ask," I said, kissing him again.

We took things slow now. For the better part of the next thirty minutes, we spent just kissing. I kept things going as I went back to unbuttoning his shirt. I just finished the last of the buttons when he picked me up so that we were both kneeling on the mattress. He completely unbuttoned my shirt in less than a second before he pulled it off me, kissing my shoulder with his hands resting on my lower back.

My head craned back as I gave out a soft moan. My hands ran down his shirt, pulling it down so that it was barely hanging on his torso in the process. We probably looked like a couple from one of those cheesy, romance novels, but I didn't care at the moment. I was too busy seeing light as Edward kissed and licked every inch of my neck.

You figure that being in bed with a vampire would make me a little paranoid about the whole neck thing. It didn't though, in fact, I found it to be a complete turn on. My pants felt tighter and my body was burning with the desperate need to get out of the rest of my clothes. Edward wasn't kidding when he said that we would go slowly. I don't even know how long we spent in this position, but I finally groaned with relief when he laid me down on my back.

I was happy though when he finally moved onto the next half of my body. His lips journeyed down to my chest, kissing my skinny frame while his fingers worked on unzipping my pants. I bit down on my lip when I felt his tongue trailing to my belly button. Apparently, that was a sensitive spot for me so I needed to be more careful with that.

I suddenly felt his skin against my thighs, which was when I noticed that he had unzipped my pants. His hand touched the bulge that was growing in my underwear, leaving me nearly nude in front of him. He stopped with the teasing and threw my pants across the room before he took his off then sprang back up to my face. Our lips meant once more, leaving me to wonder just what Edward Cullen preferred: boxers or briefs.

We knew that I liked briefs more. I felt everything he had which either meant he went commando or he pulled his underwear down with his pants. His hands crawled down to my ass, lifting me up so that my back was against the headboard. He pulled my briefs down to my ankles, taking control of me as I withered against him.

His fingers went up to my lips, which I lathered up with my saliva. We looked into each other's eyes and I could see the desire in Edward's eyes. I could feel that his desire was directed towards me. It amazed me that this was happening, but I was so happy to know that I would at least be with someone I loved for my first time. In the back of my head, I always thought it would be with some dumb jock that needed to bust a nut or some creepy, old pervert that I'd end up losing it too. Not to a hunk vampire who was totally in love with me. I could've never imagined that one.

"Fuck," I cried out as I felt his fingers enter me.

"Should I stop?" he asked.

"No, you just surprised me."

It did hurt a little, but I knew that it would hurt regardless. So long as I wasn't in too much pain then I would be just fine. I just mellowed myself out and tried to enjoy what Edward was doing as much as I could. After a while, I started to feel good. I could feel my essence spilling out as I cried out in pleasure.

We both slid down on the mattress once his fingers slipped out. I brought my lips closer to Edward, smashing our lips together as hard as I could to distract myself for what was coming next. I slipped down on my back, my legs wrapped around his waist, and braced myself as his member slid inside of me. I clung onto his back, feeling his powerful muscles smothering me as he impaled me.

"So…tight," he whispered over my lips.

He was so amazingly gentle with me for someone of such remarkable strength. We both knew that he could easily crush me in a second, but I couldn't believe just how much control he was in. Not just of himself, but of me as well. With every thrust that he took, I was left crying out his name and my body shivered with ecstasy.

Despite his cold skin, I felt unusually warm as I cried with pleasure on his shoulder. I buried my face against him with his stiff rod going in and out. I spilled out a loud curse and came between us, mostly on myself, with my seed spilling down to the sheets. I completely dazed out, unaware of my surroundings as I drifted off on a sexual high. I didn't even realize when Edward finally stopped and that I came for a second time that afternoon. I was so out of it and panting for breath that it took until a kiss from Edward snapped me out of it.

"Wow," I said, resting my head against his shoulder. "That was…amazing."

"Amazing wasn't the half of it," he said, smiling. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer against his chest. The sun was peaking in through my window, letting me see the diamonds on his skin, which sent a tingling sensation my way. "I'm glad that I waited for so long before I did this."

"You were a virgin too?" I asked. "For a hundred years, you never slept with anyone?"

"I'm very old-fashioned," he said, causing us both to laugh a little. "But I never found the right guy either. I'm pretty sure that even in my human life that I was different than others. It's rare to find a vampire who is actually gay and not just in the mood to fuck someone blindly."

"Well, I'm glad that I was lucky enough to find you so soon," I said, smiling at him. "I'm glad though that you didn't rip me in half."

"You have no idea how far I tested the limits of my self-restraint," he said, smiling. "It took everything I had not to bite you or break you. We shouldn't my self-control for a while."

"This was more than enough," I said, yawning a little. "I'm exhausted."

He kissed my forehead and I kept smiling as I nuzzled my face into his chest. I didn't realize just how nice he smelled, especially in the afterglow of sex. I could tell that he felt the same way since his breathing gave me the signal. "You know, we do have to tell Charlie about us now," he said, sounding oddly calm. "I think since we progressed to something sexual, Charlie has a right to know about us."

"Not right now," I mumbled into his chest. "Charlie can find out later…like tomorrow or next year."

"Rio."

"Fine, tomorrow," I told him. "It's a holiday anyways so we'll both be home."

"Good," said Edward. "Plus, we're going out for a baseball game tomorrow and I was thinking of bringing you along. I would need to ask Charlie's permission first."

"You're such a gentleman," I said, sleepily. "Charlie will…love your manners."

I didn't say another word as I fell completely asleep.

For almost the rest of the day, I was knocked out on my bed. I didn't wake up until evening to see that I had my underwear and a t-shirt on. Edward was nowhere to be seen, but I saw that my cell phone was in my hand and it was blinking like mad. I checked the missed alerts to see that they were from Edward, telling me that he needed to leave before Charlie showed up.

I just smirked before going back to sleep until tomorrow came.

Morning couldn't have come any sooner. I woke up feel refreshed, but remembered just what I was going to go through. Today was the day that I was going to tell Charlie that I was dating, well, not just dating, but that I had a boyfriend. It was a good thing that Edward was indestructible, I don't know how the police chief would react to hearing that his son was dating a boy.

The strength to get out of bed alluded me for a while, but I eventually managed to get out. How, I fell off the mattress and landed on the ground. I gave out a weak cry before crawling back up on me feet and limped over to the bathroom. When I got in, I saw myself for the first time since I left the Cullen house.

Amazingly enough, I didn't look like a complete mess. There weren't any obvious marks on my bed from the sex, which had to do with Edward restraining himself a lot. I did have a limp, but I couldn't' tell if that was because I fell off the bed. I did have a faint glow though, must have something to do with the leftover hormones.

I went to take a shower, cleaning off the smell of sex from my body. I went back to my room with a towel around my waist and opened the window to let the cold wind air out the room. I got changed into something simple and went downstairs to find that Charlie was already sitting at the table. He had a bowl of cereal in his hands, munching away at some Frosted Flakes. That actually sounds good so I got myself a bowl too and followed Charlie to the table.

Charlie and I ate in silence, my brain buzzing with just how I was going to break the news to him.

"Any plans, Rio?" Charlie asked, suddenly.

For a second, the teenager brain went on red alert. I thought he knew about everything like that creepy parent sixth sense of his had finally developed. Then I calmed down, realizing that Edward would've warned me if that was the case. "I might go out with a friend today," I said, keeping that cool. "Not sure yet."

"It is a nice day," said Charlie. "I wouldn't be surprised if half the kids at your school end up at the beach."

"So that should be like six out of the twelve kids?" I said, joking around with it.

"You never know, number seven might show up too," he said, joining me on my rant.

We laughed for a little while before I took our dishes to the sink. I listened to Charlie saying how he might be going fishing again today too. I wanted to smile, but my suspicions of Billy Black left me faking my joy for my dad. It was good that he had a friend, but I wasn't comfortable with it like I should've been. I need to get this man a girlfriend.

Charlie went to the living room to watch TV, while I went up to my room to change. A text from Edward informed me that he would be here in about twenty minutes. I changed into a different shirt since I felt my fitted-jeans were appropriate enough. I grabbed the only sporty like shirt I had and put it on.

Grabbing every nerve I had, I went downstairs to tell Charlie what was going to happen. I interrupted his TV viewing so that I could tell him that I was going to a baseball game with a friend. I didn't know what shocked him more the fact that I stressed the word friend or that I was going to a baseball game.

"Who is this friend?" he said, snapping back into dad mode.

"Edward Cullen," I said, biting down on my lips.

"Edward Cullen?" he repeated. He looked like he was in shock for a second. I stood still as I braced myself for what the worst Charlie could do. "Is Edward your…boyfriend?" I could tell that it was difficult for him to say that last word. I wasn't sure if it had to do with the gay thing or because he was shocked that his son was dating.

"Yes," I said. "We've been dating for a few weeks now."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang, which left me paralyzed. I watched as Charlie jumped onto his feet and stormed to the door. I prayed that he didn't have a gun on him and that he wasn't about to do something very stupid. This was the first time that he had the crazed father look in his eyes, he totally earned some respect points.

Charlie swung the door open, while I remained standing by the couch. I heard Edward's velvety, smooth voice reach out through all of this mess. "Hello Edward," Charlie said, calmly. This might be a good sign. He wasn't trying to strangle him yet. "Please, come in. Tell me about this game that you're taking my son too."

Edward came into the house, smiling at me before turning back to Charlie. "Well, my family loves playing baseball when it's nice out like today," he explained, softly. "I thought Rio might like to watch, if that's alright with you, Chief Swan."

"Please, call me Charlie." Somehow, I felt that was a classic, parent trap. I ignored it though as I went over to Edward's side, hoping my presence would be enough to keep things under control. I noticed that Charlie was easing up though as a sly grin formed. "I don't see what's wrong with that. I hope you kids have fun. Have him back by evening, Edward. Behave, Rio."

I promised that I would before following Edward out the door, relieved to escape that.

"I don't know how you pulled that off," I told him.

"Mind reader, remember?" he said, once we were in a Jeep. "Charlie won't be giving us any trouble though. He's been hoping that you would find someone."

"How nice of Charlie," I said, smiling at him.

Edward pulled out of the driveway and took us to another part of town. Once again, I wasn't familiar with where we were and he took me somewhere that no normal human would be able to traverse on his own. The Jeep made it through the woods though, which was a little surprising. He drove it well enough that we didn't crash into anything before we made it to an empty clearing where the rest of the Cullen clan lurked.

We got out of the Jeep, Edward escorted me to where his family was waiting for us. They were all dressed to play, while I felt really awkward amongst them. I noticed that Emmett and Jasper were throwing plates way too far apart for any normal person to run to without getting an out. I guess this was just one of the many different rules that vampires played by.

"You can stay with Esme," Edward told me, "while the rest of us play."

"You can help me keeping these cheaters in line," Esme said, smiling at me.

"I'm not sure I would be able to catch them," I said, laughing a little.

They all laughed too, minus Rosalie who just looked at me like I had a disease. I guess actually needing to breathe was a disease for her. I just hoped that she got whatever stick was up her ass out soon.

Alice yelled that it was time, causing the players to spring into action. Jasper went to first base, Emmett went to outfield, and Rosalie went to the pitcher mount. Carlisle grabbed the bat, while Edward and Alice waited on the sidelines.

I stayed there with Esme, watching the game unfold.

Everything went by like a blur.

A thunderstorm played above our heads and by the way they hit the ball, it was no wonder they played during a storm. Each one hit the ball with remarkable strength before running across the clearing with their blurring speed. I was left with my head spinning as Emmett cracked the bat and ran off around the clearing, while Edward disappeared to catch the ball.

"He's going to make it home," I said, sounding disappointed for Edward.

"Not quite," Esme said.

Edward appeared from the woods with the ball in his hand. Emmett looked pissed as he stopped running and smashed his fist on the ground. He got knocked out and made his way back towards us, while Jasper went up to hit the bat next.

Alice stopped them though as she dropped the ball in her hand. I noticed the way her eyes glazed over and so did everyone else there. Edward appeared by my side in a matter of seconds, grabbing onto my arm as everyone else share worried looks.

"Edward?" said Esme.

"Incoming!" Alice said. "We don't have much time."

"What's coming?" asked Emmett.

"The nomads," said Edward. "They heard us playing and they're coming here."

"How soon?" asked Carlisle. "Do we have enough time to get Rio out of here?"

"No," Alice said, gravely. "They're here."

* * *

**The Hunt: **

I suddenly felt the need to piss myself, while we all turned to the woods. The thunder ceased for a moment as I noticed three figures coming out from the woods. I clung onto Edward's arm, while they slowly came towards us. My stomach tightened up into a knot and I never wanted to go home so badly before in my life.

They took their time coming, but once they were close enough I could make out things about them. There were two men and a woman. The man in the middle was dark with a coat on and a pair of slacks with his dread locks. The other man looked terrifying and starved with his shirt unbuttoned, his blond haired tied back, and his jeans torn with age. As for the woman, she had fiery red hair with fur keeping her warm as her top exposed her flat stomach and her leather pants clung onto her legs.

Each one looked terrifying and I could tell that they weren't vegetarians like the Cullen family.

Edward told me to stand behind him and not to say a single word. There was no way in hell that I was going to argue with him in this situation. I kept myself hidden, but not obviously hidden like I was trying to purposely hide. Carlisle and the others drew closer so that we didn't look so suspicious. Alice fixed my hair for a second, making sure that it covered my neck as much as possible.

Once the newcomers came, the uneasy tension could be felt in the air.

"Hello," Carlisle said, politely. "Welcome to Forks. I'm Carlisle Cullen, this is my coven: Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Rio, and my mate Esme."

"Hello Carlisle, I am Laurent," said the dark man, I'm guessing their leader. "This is James and Victoria. We weren't aware that this was your territory. We didn't even know there were others like us in the area till we heard the noise."

"We like to keep ourselves hidden to keep suspicion to a minimum," said Carlisle. "I'm sorry though that our game of baseball interrupted your journey. We need the thunder though so that no one realizes what's going on."

"That makes sense," said Laurent. "I suppose you don't mind if we join you in a game."

Carlisle had a look on his face that made me wonder what he was thinking about. I could tell that he saw something in this situation that I didn't, but he was about to let the cat out of the bag. "That would work," he said, calmly. "Some of us were leaving anyways. You can replace their team. Edward, now that our new friends are here, you can leave with Rio and Emmett." He turned towards us, nodding his head over at Edward.

Edward just nodded and I was ready to give a sigh of relief. Emmett was already on the other side of me, all of us ready to leave when a heavy draft blew in. A draft strong enough to blow my hair around that made everyone around me go haywire.

The only one I noticed though was the blond headed man, James. "You brought a snack," he said, his eyes turning black.

The Cullens jumped on the defensive, while Laurent held James back with Victoria doing the same. Edward was ready to jump at James but Jasper and Emmett were holding him back as they stood on guard. Alice and Esme took care of my back, while Rosalie and Carlisle stayed at the front with Edward.

Laurent called for James to cease, his eyes shifting darker as well for a moment. I don't know if he got any control because Emmett's broad shoulders blocked my vision at that point. "Now is not the time, James," he said, warning him. "We don't want to start any trouble here. You know we cannot hunt in another's range. "

"Behave, James," said the woman, Victoria. "There are more of them then there are of us."

I could hear James hiss before the others began to relax.

Carlisle managed to make our visitors follow him, giving the rest of us time to leave. Edward grabbed onto me and dragged me back to the Jeep with Emmett right behind him. I closed my eyes as the wind howled against me, fearing that James might change his mind and come after me. I didn't know where I was until I felt the wind stop howling and a car door opening.

My feet touched the ground and for a second I felt dizzy. I didn't want to open my eyes because I feared the worst so I felt Edward guiding me into the car. He promised that he was going to keep me safe as he helped me in, buckling me up in less than a second.

Edward drove wildly out of the woods and somehow I felt seriously paranoid that the others were there just waiting to attack. I had to know better because we had numbers on our side and we were fighting a defensive battle. All because of me though, I was the tool that screwed up everything. I was the reason why they were fighting a defensive war with these foreign vampires.

"Can you hear them, Ed?" shouted Emmett.

"No, they're keeping their distance," he said. "We need to get Rio out of Forks, the further the better. James is a Tracker."

"Good plan!" Emmett shouted. "I'll keep an eye out for him, the little fucker won't get his hands on Rio so long as I'm here."

"Bad plan!" I said, interrupting the brotherly vamps. "What about Charlie? What if they decide to go after him."

Edward just shook his head, adamant about this. "No, I need to get you away from here," he said, firmly. "It's not safe for you in Forks anymore, Rio. James is a Tracker, he won't stop hunting you until he has you or he is killed."

"I'm not denying that part of the plan," I told him, "but you forget that Charlie is a cop. He knows that I'm with you and won't hesitate to charge you with kidnapping. You'll have a SWAT team banging at your door in a day. I need to do something that will throw Charlie off our back so you can get me out of town."

"Like what, Rio?" he said, pissed. I know he wasn't pissed at me, his thought focused more on James. I was afraid to know whatever twisted thoughts were flying in James's head that Edward was forced into watching. "I would love to hear what you have planned?"

I bit down on my lip, coming up with a plan of my own. I drew in inspiration from my mother, which I just knew would destroy Charlie, but it would get us away. "You need to get me home so I can say goodbye to Charlie," I told him. "I just need to convince Charlie that I hate Forks, that I hate you, and that I'm not happy with him."

"You think it will work?" he asked me.

"I don't think your dad is going to by some teenage rant," Emmett said above us.

"He will if I do what my mom did," I said, already ashamed of myself. "She broke him and the scars are still there. I just need to bring them back to the surface so that we'll have no trouble."

"Why don't you just kick him in the balls then?" said Emmett. "That just sounds cruel."

"Not now, Emmett," said Edward. "I'll get you home, you have only three minutes to do all of this though. James will be watching us. You need to make it as convincing as possible."

"I'm a good actor," I said, trying to convince myself of that.

Edward just nodded his head and took me back home to where I was going to kill a grown man.

* * *

**Goodbyes:**

I explained the basics of what I had planned to Edward and Emmett. They were both ready to work with the plan, Emmett and Edward switched seats to make the plan work. I would need to do everything I could to throw Charlie off my trail, pack my things, then take my truck and leave with Edward. But Charlie couldn't know that I was leaving with Edward, he needed to be convinced that it was something else that happened.

Emmett pulled into our driveway and cut off the engine, leading to me springing to action. Edward and I got out of the Jeep with me gearing up to play my biggest acting role. I told Edward to forgive me before I went all out on him. As soon as we reached the doorstep, I began to yell at the top of my lungs, loud enough so that our neighbors down the road could hear us.

"Fuck off, Edward!" I shouted, angrily. "I never want to see your face again."

The door swung open for a second then I slammed it directly on Edward's face. Hopefully, he wouldn't take offense to that, but I couldn't focus on that right now. The only thing I could worry about was convincing Charlie that Edward and I were threw. And that was only step one, step two was worse and step three would be the atomic bomb.

On cue, Charlie came running from the living room as I went straight for the stairs. I started up my fake tears before I started to yell at Charlie, lashing out at him with my fake rage. "I can't believe I let you talk me in to coming here!" I shouted, venomously. "I should've known better then to listen to a lazy cop."

Charlie tried not to take any offense to that one because he had no idea what was going on. I could tell that he was completely lost in this, but I needed to keep on playing my part. "What's wrong?" he said, sounding terribly concerned. "What happened with you and Edward? Did he hurt you?"

"No!" I shouted before slamming my door on him and locking it. "I dumped him because of you!"

I left it at that for now as I turned back to see Edward already packing my things. I helped him grab what I needed, while Charlie kept on trying to break down my door. Edward leaned towards me from across the bed and kissed my forehead. "You have one minute," he told me, handing the truck keys over to me. "Make this quick for Charlie's sake. James is here. Emmett is still near us."

Grabbing onto my bag, I nodded my head before I saw him disappear from my window. I gave out a soft sigh and grabbed my favorite shirt from the closet, stuffing it in before I opened the door. I pushed Charlie out of my way as I ran down the stairs with my keys in hand. Charlie was still yelling at me to explain myself and that he was going to handcuff me if I didn't start talking.

So now was the time, Rio. I needed to drop the bomb on him before it was too late. This was the only way I could protect Charlie's life. I could only pray that God would forgive me for what I was about to do to my father. I prayed that He knew that I was only trying to protect Charlie from my mess.

"Ilario Swan, you better explain yourself right now!" Charlie yelled at me. His voice boomed and felt like it shook the house, but that was just him using his parental authority. He spun me around, as I got ready to pull the trigger as Charlie started to ask the questions. "I thought you liked Edward. What is going on in that head of yours? Why do you have your things?"

"I do like Edward, that's the problem," I told him. "I can't put anymore roots here. I don't want to end up being trapped in this stupid, boring town like Mom! I won't make her same mistakes. I hate it here and I can't stay another minute in this hellhole!"

I added that hellhole bit, but the rest came from my mom. It was nearly a word for word speech of the last words she shared with Charlie. His hand was gone from my arm now and he looked shocked like I literally fried him to death. The scars that had scabbed over had been picked apart and now he was bleeding himself to death with the words I said.

"I'm sorry, dad," I said, softly. "I just can't do this anymore. I can't pretend to be happy when I'm miserable."

"Please Rio." The way he was pleading was breaking my hard more then I broke his. I clung onto the doorframe to hear him out, knowing that I was only wasting what little time I had left. "Just wait one more week…Renée will be back then. She called while you were away. Things aren't going well for Phil in Florida so they might go back to Arizona if he doesn't get signed soon."

"I have a key," I said, ignoring what Charlie had to say. He didn't let me leave though. He grabbed me by the arm one, last time, so I knew that I needed to go for the balls. This was the last thing my mother ever said to him when she left and took me away. This would be what I needed to get away. "Just let me go, Charlie. It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Forks!"

That ended it. My cruelty completely broke Charlie, leaving him a shell of a man. His arm fell to the side and I ran out the door before I could stop myself and apologize. If I went back then there would be no stopping me from leaving. James would have the opportunity to kill the both of us. At least this way Charlie would be safe.

I made it into the truck with Edward waiting for me in the trunk. He kept low as I hauled ass off the property, my hands shaking as I struggled to stay on the wheel. Edward snuck into the Beast sometime then and told me to pull over. I followed his orders, switching spots with him so that he could drive since I was in no condition to be operating heavy machinery.

My hands trembled as my words replayed in my head. I wouldn't be surprised if Charlie never recovered from this loss. I was afraid that he was going to do something horrible to himself now all because I was trying to keep him safe, all because I fell in love with a vampire. I started to cry at that point, crying for just how stupid I was.

"Charlie will be safe, Rio," Edward said, holding onto my hand. "James won't hurt him. He believed what he said about you leaving. He knows we wouldn't be stupid enough to keep you in town."

"That's not what I'm worried about," I said, fighting through my tears. "I'm worried about what Charlie will do to himself."

"He's in shock right now," he said, calmly. "We'll have someone watch over him though, to make sure that nothing happens. He'll forgive you though…Charlie loves you, Rio. You're the most important thing in his life. I'll make sure that things are safe enough for you soon so you can apologize to him."

I nodded my head, trying to snuff out my tears as he drove us to his house.

"Why doesn't James just kill me right now?" I asked, my voice cracking from all the crying.

"That would be no fun for him," he said, sounding disgusted by it. We pulled into the driveway and he quickly helped me out of the Beast. The Jeep came in not too far behind us with Emmett jumping out in a matter of seconds. "He wants to enjoy his hunt. He's never had a coven full of vampires keeping him away from his target. He thinks of this as an interesting game that he needs to find his way around."

"Sicko," I mumbled as he helped me into the house.

"Don't worry, Rio," Emmett said, patting my back. "If I got your back, no undead creep is going to hurt you."

"Thanks, Emmett," I whispered as we entered the house.

Edward guided me through to the living room and the first thing we saw was Laurent. I never saw someone react so fast to anything before. Emmett pinned Laurent to the wall with Edward locking his hand around his neck. For a second, I saw pure fear in Laurent's eyes, but that came to an end though when Carlisle got in the way.

I didn't quite catch what he saw because Alice and Jasper were suddenly behind me, pulling me away from any trouble. I took a sharp gasp as I watched Carlisle pull Edward and Emmett away from Laurent. I also found myself yelling at them, trying to figure out what was going on.

"A temporary truce," said Carlisle. "Laurent has abandoned James's coven and has given us information on what we need to do to deal with him."

"James's coven?" I said, stupidly.

"They tricked us," Edward hissed at Laurent. "You pretended to be the leader so James wouldn't get caught. I'm so stupid for not seeing that in the first place."

"I'm sorry," Laurent apologized. "There's not much else I can do. All I can say is that James is the best Tracker I have ever seen in my two hundred years. He will not stop until he has caught this Rio of yours. He will do everything he can to get through your coven. As for the red head, Victoria, it would be wise for you not to underestimate her. She is capable of almost anything and she is equally as vicious as James."

Laurent said his farewells and wished us luck before running out the door.

I clung onto Edward arm, looking at everyone else in the room to see their frightened looks. I was already scared enough for myself, but they way they all looked equally worried made things worse for me. If this family of vampires were scared of this one vampire then what chance did I have of surviving all of this?

"We need to get Rio out of Washington," said Edward. "Out of the country if we can trick James."

"The best we can do right now is get him out of the state," said Carlisle. "Somewhere far away enough so that we can track James down and get rid of him. Right now, we need to throw off his scent. Rosalie, why don't you swap clothes with Rio? Your scent should be enough to throw James off his trail for a moment."

"Can someone explain to me why we're risking our own safety for him?" said Rosalie. I could hear the anger in her voice, and I couldn't totally blame her. She did have a right to be angry with me. "I'm not saying that it's right for us to hand him over to James, but we are putting our own lives in danger if we protect him."

"Now isn't the time, Rosalie," Esme said, interfering before Edward did. I felt his muscle tense up in the palm of my hand. I looked at the anger that was building up in Edward, but I also just how pissed Rosalie was about all of this. "I'll switch clothes with Rio. We're closer to being the same size then him and Rosalie."

Esme took my hand and took me out of there, while the others came up with a plan on what to do with me. She took me into the dining room and had me strip, telling me to get rid of my socks and underwear as well. She threw her pants over her shoulder and I caught it, quickly putting them on before anyone else walked in. She handed her shirt over to me, her socks, and her shoes. I was very lucky that my feet actually fit, I was suddenly happy not to have a super big foot like most guys.

I zipped up the sweater and she was already fully dressed in my clothes in a second. I covered my neck with my hair to hide my scent as much as possible. Esme smiled for a moment before placing her hand on my shoulder, rubbing it gently like a mother. "We'll protect you, Rio," she said, softly. "We won't let anything happen to you. You're one of us now."

Oddly enough, I did feel reassured by her words.

With the gender swapping done, we returned to the living room where Carlisle began to explain the plan. A plan that I was hating already because it was taking me away from Edward. Jasper and Alice were supposed to take me out of the state as far away as possible tonight, while the others stayed behind to deal with James and Victoria. They would lure them away, destroy them if possible, but they were hoping that fear would be good enough to be rid of the nomads.

Alice and Jasper were already by my side, Jasper carrying the bag I had packed. I looked at them before turning back to Edward, really hating this plan. He didn't seem to fond of it either, but he had that look on his face that said he was doing this to keep me safe.

"I'll end this quickly so you can come home," Edward whispered to me as he held my face. He kissed my check before kissing me on the lips. I grabbed onto his shirt, a tear running down my face as we shared our last kiss for who knows how long. "I love you, Rio."

"I love you, Edward," I said, for the last time.

Carlisle took Esme with him, going first to lure James and Victoria out of hiding. They would distract them long enough so that Alice and Jasper could get me out of here. Edward said something about taking the Mercedes before he went off into mind reader mode. He was casting out his mind to make sure the coast was clear before giving us the heads up to run away.

I barely had a chance to say goodbye to him again before Alice and Jasper got me out of there. Jasper drove us away, while Alice sat in the backseat with me. She kept promising that they would take care of James soon that way I could go back home. I wasn't sure about all of that though as I stared out to blurry road.

I finally found a faster driver then Edward. Jasper's driving was far scarier, which made me cling onto the seatbelt as my nerves got the better of me. This all just sucked so bad. I hated it. I didn't want to leave Forks, but I needed to in order to survive. I didn't want to break Charlie's heart, but I needed to do it so that he wouldn't get hurt by James. I didn't want to be away from Edward, but I had to leave otherwise we were both in danger.

"Jasper," said Alice, "can you help?"

"Already am," Jasper said, quietly.

I think that was the first time I ever heard him talk when suddenly I felt my nerves calming down and my eyes began to feel heavy. I don't remember what happened after that, I just knew that my head was on Alice's lap and soon I was out like a light. But as I spent my last two seconds in the conscious realm, I saw something in my head that left me frightened.

All I could see was a dark room with James standing in the middle with his reflection flying off into different directions. There was a video camera in his hands, but I couldn't see much after that. The last thing I remember seeing was myself on the ground with my blood pooling all around me. I looked dead; I knew that I had to be dead.

But as my body laid on the ground, I saw a glowing figure emerge from the darkness. The figure knelt down beside me and touched my face with its luminous hand. "This is only one future for you," it whispered. "Run away and Hel will have you in her hands. Stand up against the creature and you shall receive your Honor. Stand up against the darkness, my child. Your light will protect you so long as you believe in it."

I recognized the voice in my head from the dream I had before…I just wondered what it all meant though.

* * *

**Impatience:**

When I finally woke up, I found myself on a bed that looked completely unfamiliar to me. I was dazed and confused, in shock of where I was. It was until I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw that it belonged to Jasper that I began to calm down. Alice was standing beside him with what looked like a McDonald's bag in her hands.

"Edward mentioned that you liked chicken nuggets," Alice said, smiling. "I saw that you would be hungry when you woke up."

I barely got up before grabbing the food from her hands. She was right, I was starving. I don't even remember the last time I had anything to eat. It was probably that morning before I left for the baseball game. I had gulped down half the juice in the cup before thanking Alice and Jasper. "Where are we?" I asked, softly.

"Hampton Inn," said Jasper. "We're just outside of Los Angeles."

"The plan was to take you to Phoenix since Edward mentioned that your mother wouldn't be there for another week," said Alice. "That would be the last place James would even consider looking for you. Your mother not being there also gives us plenty of time to deal with James so that we can bring you back to Forks without trouble."

"When do we leave?" I asked, before opening the bag to see that Alice got me a twenty piece. Score!

"As soon as you're finished eating," said Jasper. "You can shower too, if you want and change into your normal clothes. What Esme gave you…doesn't flatter you at all."

Alice smirked as she kissed her partner on the lips. "It looks like I'm beginning to rub off on you," she said, happily. Jasper merely nodded his head as he kissed her back then left to watch the door. The usual pained looked on his face returned as he stood guard over us.

I was already halfway done with this lunch or dinner thing when I felt the need to go to the bathroom. I decided that I might as well shower while I'm at it so I grabbed my bag and went into the bathroom. When I stripped out of Esme's clothes, I checked my phone for any missed calls or texts. That's when I saw that it wasn't with me. Edward probably took it away as a precaution, to make sure James couldn't track my phone calls I guess. I wouldn't know how he would do that though, but I'm not sure it would be worth tempting the fates over.

The shower soothed my stress body. I just sat there as the water pounded away at my back, washing away the shame of running away. All I could think about was Edward and Charlie. I hated leaving Edward and I hated hurting Charlie, but it's what needed to be done. At least, that's what I convinced myself that I was doing.

But then that weird voice kept going off in my head. The one that showed me my future both times: one where I start a war and the other of my death. I knew that this voice just had to be connected to my non-human half, but just who was the voice? Was it my true self or was it something beyond that?

I didn't have much time to wonder as Alice started knocking on the door, saying she needed to talk. I told her I would just be a minute and finished my shower. I cut off the water, dried myself off, and changed into something a little more comfortable. I found a pair of cargo shorts in my bag and a simple t-shirt. That would do.

When I got out of the bathroom, Alice was sitting by the sink with a blow-dryer in her hand and a comb in the other. I asked what she was going to do with that. She told me that she wanted to fix my hair to pass the time. The heat from the blow dryer and her quick jabs at my hair fixed my hair in a few minutes. My eyes were instinctively closed as she worked her magic so I didn't know what she was doing to it. When she finished, I saw that she neatly parted my hair so that I looked like a different person.

This hairstyle looked like it belonged on the cover of Vogue.

"Wow, Alice," I said, honestly impressed. "You should open your own salon."

"Don't tempt her," warned Jasper.

Alice scoffed his comment as she took me back into the room. She sat me down on the bed so that I could finish with my food so that we can leave. "I got you a toothbrush since you didn't have time to pack one before you left," said Alice. "And I got you some deodorant too. This road trip is not a place for a sweaty, teenage boy."

I thanked her again as I finished the last of the nuggets. I pulled the fries out next after sucking down the last of my lemonade. "What about the others?" I asked. "How is Edward doing?"

"They have James and Victoria on the run," Alice said, sitting on a chair. "Carlisle and Esme managed to trick them long enough to give us time to escape. Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward are keeping them out of town. Victoria snuck in though so Rosalie and Esme are tracking Charlie so that she won't get anywhere near him. The others are hunting down James, but he is a tricky one. I can barely keep up with him."

"Oh," I said, sadly. Maybe this would take a little longer then I was hoping. Not too long though, I didn't want to drag this out too long so that someone I cared about got hurt, even Rosalie. "Alice, I think I had a vision in the car."

"Really?" she said, sounding curious.

I even caught sight of Jasper shifting his head a little so that he could listen. I guess he wanted to know what freak boy saw too. "Well, this isn't the first time I had one, at least, I think," I said, calmly. "There was another where I saw Edward's true face before he even told me what he was. A voice told me that my blood would start a war. But the vision I had in the car, it was one of James. He killed me and this being came from out of nowhere that this would happen if I kept running. It told me that if I stood up against it then my light would protect me from the darkness. It also told me something about being taken by Hel if I kept running."

"Is that all?" Alice asked. "Can you remember anything else?"

"No."

"What do you think it means, Alice?" Jasper asked.

His words broke through our silence, which made me turn to Alice. She was thinking about it, but I wasn't sure it was a good or bad thing. I needed some reassurance from the only other Seer I knew. "Your visions are different then mine, but the same," she finally told me. "I can see what the current future holds, which is what you're doing too, in a sense. But it also seems that something is guiding you, there is an actual source for your visions. The question is who your source is?"

"Do you think it's my non-human half?" I asked.

"No," she said. "I think it's something beyond that, but its defiantly connected to it. Didn't you say something about Hel? You sure you didn't mean Hell?"

"The voice said Hel," I said, sure of it.

"I've never heard of Hel," she said. "What about you, Jasper?"

"Neither have I, but we can research it later," he told us. "Rio, brush your teeth. We need to leave soon."

I just nodded my head and did as I was told. I grabbed the toothbrush that Alice bought me and used the toothpaste from the hotel. While I did that, Alice packed my things and Jasper made sure that the coast was clear for us. Alice and I left together; she got me in the car in less than a second to make sure my scent didn't linger too long. They weren't taking any chances.

Alice drove the car to the front just as Jasper was getting out after paying for the room.

We left Los Angeles after that, my vampire friends taking me back to Phoenix.

It was a long ride to Phoenix, one that I fell asleep through again. I remember waking up as we passed Las Vegas, but that was about it. I went to sleep again after that and didn't wake up until we made it back home. I told Alice to go to the Marriott by the International Airport since that would be the safest place for us to lay low. Plenty of cops would be there, it would be a quick getaway in case something happened, and it was the most comfortable hotel in the city.

Jasper, once again, paid for the room, while Alice quickly got me into the room. I landed on the bed with a bouncy thump with my bag falling beside me. I looked inside of it to see what else Edward brought along that he deemed worthy. There wasn't much. It was all mostly clothes, he got me my iPod so I could at least listen to music, and he got my worn out copy of the fourth Harry Potter book. If he really thought that the Goblet of Fire and Cedric dying were going to be enough to distract me then he seriously picked out the wrong book for the job.

My laptop wasn't in the bag. I guess he thought I was going to update my Facebook status to let people know that I was on the run from a vampire and hiding out in Phoenix. He could've at least packed my DS so I could play damn Mario! Maybe I could convince Alice to get me one...

Day Two of my escape came and went with Day Three being equally as boring.

I decided to make Day Three a little more interesting by asking Alice a few questions. Jasper was too stone-faced and focused on making sure we weren't being followed to pay attention. At least with Alice I could get out a decent conversation. She was a people person unlike her partner.

"Alice," I said, gaining her attention, "can you tell me what it's like to be changed? Into a vampire I mean…do you remember it at all?"

A soft sigh escaped her as she curled up into the chair that she was sitting on. She only shook her head as she looked at me. "I remember nothing of my human life other then it was painful before the change," she told me. "The only memories I have left are of my second life. I woke up in a dark hole, which turned out to be a grave that a dug myself out of. After that, I was on my own for a long time until I found Jasper then Carlisle."

"Oh," I said, softly. "Edward won't tell me about the change."

"For good reason," she said. "It's not a pleasant experience. Everyone remembers how they were changed. They were all changed by Carlisle with the exception of Jasper, Emmett, and myself. Rosalie was the one who changed Emmett after he was nearly killed by a bear. We're still amazed that she had the strength to resist just killing him. Vampires aren't known for their self-control when there's blood involved."

"So there's a chance that you might drink the person to death?" I asked. "But how do you change someone. Is just biting them?"

"Our venom does the trick," she explained. "We secrete a painful venom like snakes, except ours is far worse. It boils away at your insides and leaves you in excruciating pain. If you can survive the pain then you will be reborn as a vampire…if not, then you just die."

"Do you think Edward would ever change me?"

"If he can help it, no," she said, simply. "He wants you to live a human life, away from him. He values your existence more than his own happiness. But that's just how Edward is."

She left me with that as she got up, saying that she was going to get me something to eat. The door closed behind her and I was left alone with Jasper. He wasn't much for company, but at least I felt at ease as I fell back on the bed.

"How do you do it?" I said to Jasper. "How is it that I'm so calm whenever you're around?"

"It's my gift," he said, simply. "I can control a person's emotions. I can keep them calm when they're stressed or hostile."

"Why do you guys have gifts? Do all vampires have them?" I asked.

"Only some do," he told me. "Carlisle believes that the strongest traits of our human lives can carry onto our next ones. Alice has her visions, Edward was able to get into people's heads, my charismatic nature helps with my emotional control, and Carlisle has his compassion for all life."

I chuckled at that last bit before my eyes felt really heavy and I went to sleep again.

The next time I woke up, I saw a bag of food sitting on the nightstand. I got up and was about to thank Alice again when I saw that she was sitting down with Jasper. They were both whispering about something, while I heard a pen scribbling against paper, furiously. I pulled myself off the mattress, making my approach when I saw what Alice was drawing.

It looked like a room full of mirrors. There was a TV monitor pushed off to the side, sitting on top of a cart. I saw a few bars and a couple of balance beams that were neatly put away. I even saw a stack of chairs that were packed up and pushed away to another wall. That place looked very familiar to me. In fact, I knew where it was! Oh dear God, I know where that is.

"The dance studio," I said, shaking my head at that memory. "The dance/ballet studio that mom would force me to go every day for two summers."

Alice and Jasper turned towards me, both carrying grave looks on their faces. I saw this and it made my skin crawl with terror. "You know this place?" Alice asked me. "Why would you go here, Rio?"

"My mom made me?" I said, not sure what was going on. "I think this was one of the defining moments where I went to the gay side of the force. Wait, what's with the twenty questions? I haven't been there since I was like twelve."

"You were here, in a vision," Alice told me. "Why would you go there? Does that place any significance for you?"

"I hate dancing," I said, shaking my head. "I don't know why I was there! I vowed to never return to that evil place. I got picked on by bullies everytime I went there. Do you think I want to relieve that childhood nightmare?"

Alice began to relax with my rant coming to an end. I wanted to ask what the problem was, but she just ignored me and grabbed her phone. She walked off to the other end of the room, calling someone. I turned to Jasper, hoping to get some answers out of him, but he was as silent as usual.

If I could hurt a vampire, I would punch Jasper right now. His silent guy routine was starting to get on my nerves. Why couldn't be talkative like earlier like this charismatic guy claimed to be.

I just shook my head and grabbed the drawing to check it out myself. The room looked exactly like the last time I saw it, but why would Alice have a vision about it now of all times?

"Edward said that they've lost track of James," Alice said, returning to us. "Esme and Rosalie are still on Victoria's tail, but James is giving them the slip. He knows that you're no longer in the state. He's going to do whatever he can to track us down now."

"Do we run then?" asked Jasper.

"Carlisle told us to wait for now," she told us. "He'll call by the morning to tell us what we're going to do."

While they discussed their possible options, I remember my mom. I checked the date from an app on my iPod and saw that there wasn't much time left before she got back. They had four more days before mom may show up back home. I couldn't let her come back home, especially if James was now looking for me all over the country.

"Alice, I need to borrow your phone," I said, strongly. "I have to call my mom and make sure she's not coming back."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," said Alice.

"Well I do," I told her. "If my mom decides to come home early then it's possible that James can catch her. We won't be able to reach her on time if James finds out that she lives here. He'll use her to get to us."

"Alright," Alice said, caving in, "but don't say a word about where you are."

I took her phone and dialed the number home. Mom always checked the answering machine whenever she was away for a longtime. If she could only catch my message and stay away from the house then hopefully it would by us enough time to finish James. When the machine came on, I quickly left a message for her. I kept it plain and simple, saying that I was safe but not with Charlie anymore. I told her to stay in Florida with Phil. I didn't say anything else as I hung up the phone and handed it back to Alice.

I ignored the food that was waiting for me on the nightstand; instead I just went to sleep and tried to survive another day of misery.

Another dream came to me again.

I saw myself dead again with James devouring my blood by the galloon. His eyes were crazed as he drained me dry. I didn't see anything else, but I did hear the voice give me the same warning though.

I didn't know what to do…this was all just madness.


	5. Twilight V

Author's Note: WOOOOO! Here's the last chapter for the Twilight segment of the story. I'm glad that you all like it so much so far! I'm thinking within the next week or two, I'll post up the chapter set for New Moon. It'll still be up on here, I'll just mark it as New Moon so you won't get confused! P.S. let me know if you want me to do a Breaking Dawn rewrite too. I'm thinking of ending with Eclipse, but I might continue on with Breaking Dawn if you're just dying to see MORE! Well, thank you all. Read and review! REVIEW! REVIEW! Or I'm gonna punch a bitch! :]

**Phone Call:**

Things just felt so dead to me at this point. I've been locked away for I don't know how many days at this point; it all just became one big blur for me. I wasn't sure if last night that I had my vision or if it was days before then. The date didn't matter to m anymore. I just wanted to go back to Forks so I could be with Edward again and apologize to Charlie.

My heart broke everything I thought about how horrible I had been to Charlie. Whenever I wasn't thinking about dying or Edward, my thoughts were on Charlie. I had been so cruel to my own father, but it was the only way that I could keep him safe from James and Victoria. I couldn't drag him into my mess; Charlie deserved a better son then me.

But as a pushed Charlie away, my heart began to yearn for Edward to complete it again. It was so painful for me to be away from him, to be so alienated from the one that I loved. I knew it had only been a few days, maybe a week or so, but it felt like longer. I needed to feel his hand against my face, his cool lips over mine, and the pulsing sensation I got when we made love. I needed to have that feeling back, but so long as I kept on running away that would never happen for me.

I would just have to keep hiding until something was done about James.

I didn't see James kicking the bucket anytime soon and there was no chance in Hell that he was going to give up, so it looked like I would be stuck here with my protectors. Don't get me wrong, Alice and Jasper were great considering everything that was going on. I knew that they were trying their best to keep me safe without going completely insane, but how much seclusion could one guy take? I shouldn't blame them though; if this mess was anyone's fault then it would be mine. I fell in love with a vampire, I got too deeply involved, and now another vampire wants to feast on my blood.

Why couldn't high school prepare me for this one?

So with a sigh, I leaned my stressed head against the headboard of the Marriott. From the top floor through the open blinds, I could see the airport next to us. We picked this place because it would make a quick and public getaway incase the worst happened. Alice told me that James wouldn't dare to attack in a public venue like that because of the exposure risk. She said something about that there was no prize worth the consequences, whatever that could've meant.

The food that Jasper brought from the breakfast bar at the first floor just sat in front of me. The eggs, sausage, and toast remained perfectly untouched as I blankly stared out the window. I kept breathing in the stale air, suffering from the lack of proper nourishment from the outside world. This was lockdown though. This was all supposed to be for my safety, to make sure that my scent didn't get us caught. Although, I highly doubted that James would even think about coming down to Phoenix because it was too painfully obvious of a hiding spot.

I held onto the fork, bending the plastic utensil as I continued to stare out the window. We weren't' that far up, but the people still looked like little ants as they scurried around to their cars. From up here, their cars looked like the Hot Wheels that I used to play with when I was just a kid. Simpler times, back when I was allowed to step outside without the fear of being attacked by a vampire named James.

"UGH!" I growled with frustration as I flopped down to my pillow. "I'm dying here and nobody can seem to do anything to make me less miserable!" As I growled my frustrations, I began to feel like something funny was going on with my head. I grabbed the fork and threw it across the room to the couch that Jasper was sitting on, watching TV. "Your vampire mind tricks aren't helping, Jasper. I'm tired of this secluded life. I need to get out of this room before I hang myself with these bed sheets."

"Easy with the dramatics, Rio," Alice said, gracefully walking into the room as usual. I saw her with her cell phone as she dropped it on the bed. She sat down across from me with a cheery smile on her pixie-like face. "This might help cheer you up some. James has pretty much fled the country so Carlisle and Edward decided that it's safe enough for you to return to Forks. Of course, you'll need to go back with some seriously, heavy security."

I didn't even pay attention to that last sentence as I jumped at attention. I was on my knees as I crawled closer to Alice to get more information out from her. "So we can go back to Forks? When! How soon?" I asked. "James is like really, really gone for good? Well, not dead really gone, but like never coming back?"

"The stars point to yet," Alice said, laughing. "So you are very lucky that Carlisle and Edward are flying down here so we can all leave together. They'll be here by this three this afternoon."

The other guests probably freaked out by the girlish squeal that I gave out with all my excitement. I was beaming with joy as I jumped off the bed, deciding that I was seriously going to need a shower. I was already busy sorting through my clothes for something to wear, while Alice went over to Jasper to make preparations to leave.

I ran through the shower and got clean in less than five minutes. I ran out of there, fully dressed with my favorite shirt on (I'm amazed that Edward packed in) and a pair of skinny jeans. I tossed a flannel shirt onto the counter as I began to work on my hair, while someone's phone began to go off.

Alice's soft voice filled my ear drums for a minute. I didn't pay too much attention to it until I saw that she was beside me with her phone stretched out to me. "Your mom," she said, softly. "She got the message and she's pretty hysterical."

Stopping what I was doing, I took the phone from Alice with a smile. I raised it up to my ear to hear my mother crying my name out hysterically just like Alice warned me. "Mom," I said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Calm down for a minute and I can explain."

"Oh, you do have some explaining to do, Rio," said a dark, familiar voice. My stomach tightened up as I lost my breath for a moment. Chills jumped up and down my spine as I froze in complete fear as I heard the voice of a monster. "You and I need to have a little talk, Rio, but I bet your friends are with you right now. Before I start to ask my questions say yes mom, I'm listening. Got it?"

"Yes mom, I'm listening," I said, oddly without any suspicion in my voice.

"Good, Rio. You learn very fast," I heard James chuckle. "Now, I have your mom, kid. I shut her up now, but she does look awfully tasty so I don't know how much longer I can keep myself away." Already I was about to swear him down to Hell, but he was ready for me. "Uh, don't say anything yet, Rio. Even the slightest hint to the Cullens and I'll kill your mom. You wouldn't want that would you since you're all I want. Say yes mom."

"Yes mom," I said, clenching onto my comb. "We wouldn't want that."

"Very convincing," James said. "Now, you're going to get away from the Cullens. I'm sure that shouldn't be too difficult, would it?"

"It's complicated," I said, not risking any hints to Jasper and Alice.

"I see, but I really don't care," he said, laughing. "You're going to find a way to escape and I want you to go to your house. There will be a number next to the phone that I want you to call by four. Understood?"

"I got it," I said.

"Good. Well, it has been lovely chatting with you, Rio, I bet we'll be seeing each other very soon if you want your mother to keep breathing," James said, laughing at the pain in my heart. "Now, say goodbye mom and I love you."

"Goodbye mom," I said, following James's instructions. "I love you."

"Bye Rio."

The phone went dead and I bit down my lip to maintain all of my cool. I prayed that Jasper didn't feel any of these emotions that were going on. SHIT! Alice, her visions will warn her that something was wrong. I don't know how much time I have left before they realize something is off; I need to think of a way to stay cool.

Better yet, I need to block them from seeing me with their powers. Maybe if I could at least put up a wall in my own head, I might be able to repel their power. I gave a heavy sigh, willing a wall to go up to block them up, which was when I began to feel a force go around my head. I was felt a little tired, but that meant that it had to work.

So I was able to face Alice and Jasper like nothing happened as I returned the phone to her. "My mother is freaking out because she got the message," I told them. "She didn't even give me a chance to explain anything so we should probably take off as soon as Edward and Carlisle get here. Just to be certain that she doesn't fly in and snatch me away forever."

"Alright then," Alice said, softly. "You should finish getting ready. Your hair is a bit of a mess."

"I think I'm done," I said, feeling the wet mess on my head. "As much as I want to look good, I'm just too unmotivated to do anything with it."

"If you say so," Jasper said as he got up. "I'll go call Emmett and the others to see how things are in Forks. We wouldn't want any surprises waiting for us." He left the room for the separate "living" room to call the others.

With Jasper gone, I began to ease up but my mind was still a killer storm. All I could think about was the danger my mom was in all because of me. My heart was breaking because she was in danger and in the hands of a monster that was desperate for my blood. Everything was going to end so well though…I was going to be with Edward soon and now that's all done with.

"Alice," I said, softly, "can you do me a favor?" She barely nodded her when I turned towards her, trying to keep playing it cool. I didn't want to test the limits of the wall I put up since I didn't know how strong or how long it would last. "If I write a letter to my mom, could you deliver it really quick for me?"

"Sure, Rio," she said, studying me carefully. "I'll do it for you."

She left the room to give me some space as I went after the pen and paper. I waited until she was completely gone before I wrote a farewell letter to Edward. It was a struggle to keep it legible as I fought through all the heartache that was building up inside of my chest. It took everything I had just to keep myself from throwing up in the process.

I finished writing it and gave it a once over before folding it carefully. I found an envelope on the desk and sealed it in there before getting up. My final words to Edward would forever be burned into mind as I grabbed my shirt from the counter and put it on.

The letter had my goodbyes for Edward, I told him I loved him, and I begged him not to be angry with anyone but me. I explained that Jams had my mom and this was the only choice I had. I told him that I was so sorry for all of this before saying my last I love you.

With that letter, I sealed my heart away.

* * *

**Hide-and-Seek:**

We all finished getting ready for our return trip back to Forks. I did what I could with my hair, but I didn't feel like prettying myself up for my death. I just brushed the mess to the side and was done with it as I fished out some pepper spray that Charlie got me, checking that it would be small enough to pass. This wouldn't help with James, but if I could sting him for a little bit then that was something.

I followed Jasper and Alice to the car so that we could haul ass to the airport. I kept my bag with me as I stared out into space with Alice talking about the tickets we needed to grab so that we could get back. I just nodded my head as Alice took off to get our tickets, while Jasper and I went to park the car.

There was a plan already brewing in my head as I worked on my escape. Jasper and Alice wouldn't cause a scene so that's something I could use to my advantage. I couldn't just walk off on my own; I would need to be a lot more creative than that. So I had to quickly come up with a way to get me away as sneaky as possible without setting off any alarms.

Jasper and I walked together to the security checkpoint with Alice bouncing up towards us. She handed us the tickets and I had the plan completely ready to go. We made it through TSA without much trouble and we walking towards the terminal where Edward and Carlisle were supposed to arrive from. Then we were going to snake a right to the next terminal for our flight back home.

But I would never make it to that flight.

I stared at the gate that they would be coming off of in about twenty minutes. With a heavy sigh, I gave in and set my plan into motion. I walked up to Alice with my letter in hand, ready to make her keep the promise. "Hey Alice," I said to gain her attention, "here's the letter. And can you hold onto my bag so I can go to the restroom?"

"Sure," Alice said, happily.

Jasper looked like he was about to follow me, but I told him I would be at the restrooms right there. The men's room was right behind us so it's not like they wouldn't know if I was kidnapped or something. That calmed him down enough to wait, while I firmly wished for the wall to stay up in my head.

When I got into the restroom, I pushed onward to the other door. Back when I was a kid, I didn't know there were two doors that led to another set of gates. I freaked out because I thought my mom abandoned me until she came screaming around the other end. Today, I would use this second door to keep myself hidden from Alice and Jasper's sight. When I got out and got far enough, I started to run for it.

Nobody was too suspicious because it looked like I was going to my gate. This helped to get people out of my way and I made it quickly towards the main exit. I slowed down before security freaked out with me, speed walking outside and found a taxi cab already outside. A smile formed on my face as I quickly jumped in and slammed the door shut behind me.

"I need you to take me to this address," I said before reciting my home address.

"That's going to be expensive, kid," said the cab driver.

I tossed some money at him, asking if that would be enough for the fair. He just smiled and said that would be enough for him. He sped out of the airport after that and I submersed myself with my final thoughts as I curled up into a ball and bit my nail.

I hated where things were going. Edward was probably off the plan with Alice and Jasper trying to explain what happened to me. He would be freaking out; they all would when Alice would realize the letter she held. Edward would read it and know just happened, what the Fates had in store for me.

The pepper spray was in my pocket and would be my only friend for this journey to death. I softly sighed as I stared out the passing scenery of my sunny home. To think, just a few months ago I was dying to come back here, now I was about to die here. I guess this just showed that beggers couldn't be choosers and that God worked in mysterious ways.

My brain died not much longer after that as the cabby dropped me off at the house. As soon as I jumped out, he drove away from the house to wherever he was going next. I ran towards the familiar home and grabbed the spare key that mom had hidden under the lawn gnome. I popped the door open and ran into the house, screaming for my mom.

That was pretty stupid since I already knew that she was wherever she was with James. I checked the clock and saw that I still had ten minutes before I was supposed to call James. The phone was already in my hands as I saw a number that was scribbled out on a notepad. I quickly dialed it and braced myself for the voice of my future killer.

"You're early, Rio," laughed James. "I like that, you're a punctual prey."

"My mother," I hissed before he could go any further.

"Still alive," James said. "Now, here's where you better be coming next, alone." He stressed that last part before giving me the address. I thought about it for only a second when I remembered just where it was that he was at. "Do you know where it is? Its only down the street from your house."

"I know," I said, weakly. "Keep my mom alive and I'll be there in five minutes."

"We'll be waiting then," James said as he hung up the phone.

Before leaving the house, I ran upstairs to find my secret weapon. I dove under my bed and grabbed the box that I had hidden underneath. Inside was a knife that Charlie got me for my thirteenth birthday. He said to use it only for emergencies to protect myself and my mom. I didn't know what that meant and thought he was crazy for it, but today I understood everything that Charlie meant.

I flipped the knife up to stare at the blade for a second. I closed it back into the case thingy and stuffed it in my pocket. "Thank you, Charlie," I whispered to my father. I thanked him for his last gift, which I would use to make James hurt even if it was only for a second. I would make sure that James felt even a little bit of pain before he tore me apart in a matter of seconds.

There was nothing else I needed to do so I ran out of the house, leaving the door opened behind me. The address was burned into my head as I thought about the location. James was waiting for me at my old, dance studio that my mom dragged me into for every week in the fall back when I was twelve. It was when I was first starting to show attractions to the other boys; she thought dancing would help with my closeted sexuality. That only made things worse for me as I got my ass kicked everyday and tripped with every dance step that I took. Mom eventually gave up on that one and let me quit.

But that didn't stop her from passing by it every day to school, making me wonder what could've happened if I just learned to dance. That changed though once she learned I could sing and forced me into choir. I was actually good enough that I joined show choir in high school and like what I was doing until we moved up to Forks.

Why was I even thinking about all of this? James was going to kill my mom if I didn't make it to the studio in time. I snapped out of my trance and saw that the sun was slowly beginning to set with the overcasty sky. Although it never rained, it smelled like it would and that really made me miss Forks and everything else.

I made it to the vacant studio and pushed the doors open, running inside to the main room where James would no doubt be waiting for me.

My feet carried me into the main part of the studio where the dancers would practice. I looked around, only seeing the TV cart against the mirrored wall. The bally equipment was pushed aside to give the other dancers space for to practice. There were mirrors everywhere and I automatically went back to the mirrored room that Alice drew. Our vision became very clear to me as I saw the place that I would soon die in.

"Mom!" I shouted, not caring about my coming death. "James, you son of a bitch, let my mother go right now!"

"RIO!" The look of shock on my face as I saw TV come on with my mom appearing on the screen made my muscles tightened up. "Rio, honey, don't scare me like that!" I saw my mom on the TV, running after me on my sixth birthday party. I was still little back then so I ran off to play with the pony that mom got me for the day. I got a little to close and nearly got the pony to knock me down, but the rider saved my butt.

There was a slight applause as I heard something from above me. As I tilted my head up, he descended from the ceiling and landed a few feet away from me. The TV cut off as I looked upon the face of my killer. James only wore a predatory smile on his face to go with the leather outfit he decided to kill me in. There was a camcorder in his hand, which I could only imagine the horrific death he had planned for me.

Oddly enough though, I was comforted by the fact that this was a set up. It was obvious that this was all just a trick that James set up to trap me. He never had my mother, but he found out where I lived and used the home movies to lure me out of hiding once he found my message on the answering machine. I didn't need to hear him explain the big, villainous speech of it all. I got the jest of it.

"Congratulations," I said to him. "You got me to believe that you really had my mother, lured me away from the Cullens, and now you get to eat the prize."

"It was easy though," James said, holding the camera up. I could see the blinking red button and knew he was recording this. That sick, twisted son of a bitch was actually going to record what he was going to do to me. "You humans are so easy to trick. As soon as the family card gets drawn, you are helpless and practically throw yourselves at me. This was too boring of a game, I need to do something to spice it up."

"Gee, I'm so sorry that I couldn't have been more of a challenge for you," I said, standing perfectly still as I looked at my killer. Where the hell was I getting all this cockiness from? Shouldn't I be pleading with him to spare my life or something like that? "If you want, I could just run outside right now and scream at the top of my lungs for help. You want to give me a five minute head start? That might make things a little fun for you."

James started to chuckle as he circled around me with the camera like a shark. His deep, dark voice filled my senses as I watched him cautiously. He could spring up at me at any moment and I needed to be prepared to stab him once or twice. "That's not the type of fun I was hoping for," he said, calmly. "I was thinking that I could always go back to Forks and kill the Cullens. I'm sure that boy, what's his name again, Edward? I'm sure he'd just love to avenge your death. He would be fun to kill. Victoria could play with all the rest. It's actually thanks to Victoria that I found you. See, if she wasn't so tech-savvy and good at breaking into public buildings then I would've never learned that you used to live in Phoenix and the address of your mother's house."

"I get it," I said, "I was an easy target. Can we just get on with the show already? You gonna kill me because I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of whimpering on camera so you could just jack off to this later?"

Seriously, where the fuck was all this confidence coming from, this was so not me!

Less than a second, James already had his hands around me. His hands were gently locked around my neck and he lifted me up into the air with ease, the camera still aimed at me. "Do I scare you not, you little brat?" growled James. "I could easily snap your neck right now and end this. I'll drink you dry and send the video to your boyfriend so he could watch your final moments of life. Do you think that will get him all riled up to come after me?"

"Maybe," I mumbled as he held onto my throat. "This might really get him going though." I pulled out the pepper spray from sleeve and aimed it in his face. I quickly sprayed the stuff in his eyes, which barely seemed to hurt him at all, but he still threw me across the studio so that I crashed into the folded chairs. The cold, metal chairs began to fall around me as I felt bruises already forming on my body.

I struggled to push myself out of the mess, while James appeared above me once more. He dragged me out of there and tossed me back to the middle of the studio where I landed on my back. I heard a loud pop as a wave of pain washed over my body. I groaned with my frustration as I looked up to my killer who was still recording the event. Without him really paying attention, I got my knife out and got ready to strike.

If I was going to die today, I was going to at least make sure I went down fighting.

"That barely stung, you little shit," he said, laughing. "Did you really think that some cheap spray was going to save your life?" He slammed his boot down on my unarmed hand, crushing the bones as he grinded it down. I cried out with pain as he shattered my bones. "I'm a fucking Immortal! Your cheap toy can't hurt me."

James moved his foot away before he knelt down and grabbed my face, his nails slowly digging into my skin. I hissed with my pain, wiggling as I tried to break free. His grasp was firm on me though as he pulled my face up higher. "See, now we got some tears flowing," said James. "The movie was getting so boring with our protagonist acting all brave in the face of death. Hmm, maybe a raunchy sex scene is in order. I'm sure you'll get an Academy Award for it."

"Fuck you," I spat at him. I flipped the knife and drove it down into his boot. To my amazement, the knife actually went somewhere just as a bright light came out. We were both in shock for a moment before James completely roared with raw rage. He dropped the camera then grabbed me, ripping me away from Charlie's knife as he threw me at the mirrored wall.

The glass cracked and I smashed my skull against it upon impact. I slumped down after that, my body already beginning to quit on me. I guess my vision wasn't a hundred percent right after all. Fighting wasn't doing much for me except seriously pissing James off.

Speak of the devil, James was pulling the still glowing knife out from his foot. He hissed as the blade came out and threw it aside as he glared maliciously at me. "What the fuck was that, you little shit!" he hissed. "No weapon can pierce a vampire unless enchanted. That was magic! You used magic to fucking cut me."

"Well," I said, spitting out blood, "I'm not all human."

"Then what the fuck are you!" James hissed as he came after me.

I was bleeding now and I knew it. The trickling of blood down my skull and back wasn't the only indication of it all. James's eyes were bloodshot as the bloodlust was taking over from the intoxicating scent of it all. "The jury…is still out on…that one," I struggled to speak. "We'll never know now."

"Oh well," James said as he snatched me up. "I guess I'll just have to go after your family now then. You got me very curious now. I want to know exactly what you are so I can hunt down the rest of your kind and slaughter them all!"

My hands failed to help me as I struggled to try and push him away. I just looked like a drunk as I tried to do anything with my head bobbling around in the process. It completely slumped over so that it was leaning against his shoulder, the camera aimed at my turned face.

"This is the most fun I had with my food in a century," said James. "This little fight is actually interesting. It reminds me of that seer I wanted to devour so bad, but that damn old one had to get in my way."

"What?" I asked, the haze in my head fogging up all comprehension of what was going on.

"The girl," James said, "not the blonde or the old woman, the other one in their clan. I knew her when she was still human...her last name was Brandon, I think. The people in that town locked her away in a mental institution because of her sight, I was going to devour her because I heard that seer's tasted fantastic."

I was freaking out at this point. The haze was clearing up just enough so that I could understand what he was talking about. Alice, James had actually known Alice when she was human. What were the chance of that?

"But she was protected by one of our kind and he took pity on her, turning her into one of us. That protected her from me, but that didn't stop me from destroying him out of revenge. That girl was the only one to ever get away, you won't be so fortunate though, boy. You are going to die, slowly and painfully."

There wasn't much I knew after that, all I could feel was him take my arm. He raised it up to his mouth and I felt fear running all over my body. I knew what he was about to do, but nothin could've prepared me for what was coming. He sank his fangs into my wrist and soon I felt the burning poison attack my insides.

I gave out a horrible, glass shattering scream as all the mirrors shattered around us. I cried out in truly horrible pain as the poison burned my body, while James just continued to drink despite my protests. I knew my body was quickly dying and I would soon lose everything.

The voice lied to me, I fought but my light failed to protect me. Now, I was about to die because of a bunch of lies. Maybe God would have some mercy on me at least and make my suffering end soon…soon…

* * *

**Angel:**

My body felt so numb all over as I drifted on the coastline between life and death. I lost against James and that came at the price of my life. No matter how hard I fought, James would hit twice as hard until I was no more. I'm dead now and I would never get to be with my Edward again, at least I can take some joy in knowing that he never had my mom in the first place.

I may have been dead, but mom was safe from James. She was never in town, it was all just a horrible trick that was done by James. It was still a risk that I couldn't afford to take though. I had to make sure she was safe from the monster that wanted me. And she was, mom is safe so that's all that matters to me.

Dying wasn't so bad, I could say the least. Everyone was probably better off without me causing them anymore trouble. Mom and dad would be safe from my vampiric mess, but they would be sad with me gone. The friends I made in Forks, especially Jacob and the Cullens would probably be upset. Then there was Edward, he would probably be the most heartbroken of them all.

At least they were safe…they were all alive, they would recover…someday.

"Rio!" cried an angelic voice. "Rio, can you hear me?"

I could an angel crying out my name, but I just couldn't push my numb body through the sea of darkness. I kept sinking down into oblivion while an angel cried for me. Was I losing my Heaven? Was I sinking down into the pits of Hell?

The angel kept on calling for me but I couldn't fight the darkness and free myself. I wanted to just tell him that I was okay so that he wouldn't have to worry about me. My voice couldn't reach the angel though; it was so dry and cracky that I don't even think I heard myself. I needed to reach my angel; I needed him to at least hear me.

"Carlisle, do something!" cried the angel. "He's dying. You have to save him."

"I'm doing everything I can, but the injuries are so severe. What's remarkable though is how his body is fighting the poison, while trying to heal itself," said the familiar Carlisle. "The non-human half is trying to heal everything, but the poison is taking too much strength from him. So long as his body has to fight the poison then his chance for survival is dropping down to nothing."

"Edward, you need to drain the poison!" came Alice's voice. "You're the only one who can fight the bloodlust to drain the poison from him so he can heal."

"I can't do that, Alice," said my angel, Edward. "What if I can't…what if I lose control?"

"Then he'll die either way," said Carlisle. "You can either help save him or do nothing and let him die. I would do it myself, but its taking everything I have to stop the bleeding."

My conscious began to resurface through the darkness as I heard everyone's familiar voice. My eyes were slowly beginning to flutter open, though I was still feeling severally numb. "Ed…ward," I choked out.

"Rio!" everyone said in amazement.

Edward had my head on his lap, tears streaming down his perfect face. His cold hands were stroking my cheeks as I saw a mixture of fear and sorrow hurting my angel. "Rio…how could you do something so reckless?" he cried to me. "What were you thinking?"

"I thought he had my mom," I said, weakly. "He…tricked me." I tried to tell him more but the numbness was leaving my body just as I noticed Carlisle messing with my leg. Whatever he did triggered a wave of pain to shoot throughout my entire body, causing me to scream out helplessly. I began to feel it all. I felt everything that James did to me whether it was a broken born or the poison that was invading my body. "AH! Edward, help. It burns! My arm is burning."

I withered around in pain, the poison spreading throughout my body at this point. I felt my organs melting inside of me. There was so much fire inside of me that I felt that I was about to burn to death. I was going to catch on fire at any moment.

"Help me!" I cried again. "It burns so much…I can't take it. AH! Someone kill me!"

"Do it, Edward," said Carlisle. "You need to drink the venom out of his body."

"AH!" I cried, helplessly again.

Edward just looked at me then at the bind on my wrist. He raised it up towards his lips, but I didn't feel the same fear I did when James did it. It could've been just the poison that was running around or the fact that I knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Edward apologized to me with his eyes before sinking his fangs into the open wound.

More pain began to rush all over me, but it wasn't as bad as when James did it. I don't know how to explain it as I felt the burning beginning to diminish some. I remember Carlisle saying something about my body already fighting it. Was my non-human half helping push the venom to Edward so he could remove it or something?

All I knew was that I was beginning to float on a hazy stream. My body was numbing up again as the burning sensation was slowly being drained out of my body. So was a lot of blood, I knew I would be a goner at any moment if Edward didn't stop soon.

"That's enough, Edward," warned Carlisle. "Anymore and he won't have enough blood to survive."

That warning didn't seem to be enough as I still felt Edward drinking. My body was beginning to shut down quickly as I fought through my cloudy haze. I reached out with my horribly, broken arm and touched Edward's face. "Stop," I barely whispered. That was all it took for him to get the message. Edward relinquished his hold on me and gently placed my arms back down.

I sighed with relief, no longer feeling the horrible burn that was killing me. That's when I began to feel something else running around my body. It wasn't nothing painful, it felt like something sweet and divine almost. It must be magic; my powers were helping me to recover, saving my life from death.

It felt good as I floated on magical clouds that drifted me away into space. I felt hopeful as I road another cloudy haze that left me dazed and confused. I didn't know where I was or what happened to James or even how Edward and the others got here. I didn't really care though, all I knew was that I was going to be alright.

But first, I needed to help Alice before I forgot.

"Edward, there's a tape," I whispered as he tilted my body up. I laid my head against his chest as he held me protectively close to his chest. The haze was growing stronger and I needed to tell him everything I could now before it was too late. "James was recording all of this."

"I saw him," Edward told me. "Don't worry, we'll destroy it."

"No," I said, weakly. "Alice…she needs to see it. James knew her, he knew her when she was human. She can find her past now."

I felt Edward's body tense up before he told me simply okay. I relaxed a little, knowing that I did what I could to help before I completely slumped over in his arms. I couldn't fight anything any longer. My magical high was coming to a crash as I lost consciousness once more. My eyes fluttered shut and my body went on standby as I completely passed out in Edward's arms.

* * *

**Impasse:**

I felt chained when I finally returned to the conscious realm again. I smelt the smell of sick people mixed with bad medicine, I heard constant beeping, and there was defiantly an intercom that was going off somewhere. When I found the muscle strength to open my eyes, I wasn't too surprised to find myself in a hospital room. That foul smell of sick people was a big enough hint that I was trapped here.

But I still was alarmed considering that I was only dying who knew how long ago. My body tensed up with the memory of it all as I began to nervously panic about what happened. It wasn't until a cool hand touched my shoulder that I began to calm down and relax back into the uncomfortable mattress.

"You're awake," said his velvety voice. "I'm glad you're back."

A smile crept up my face as I turned to see Edward there. He looked like he went through hell, which made me worry about how trashy I looked. "I'm glad to be back," I said, softly. "So, tell me, how stellar do I look right now? I bet I look great in a hospital gown. Does my butt crack show and everything?"

"I'm not sure this is really the time to joke around like this," Edward said as he knelt a little. This gave me the opportunity to look at him perfectly without any head movement. His hand was resting over mine, tracing over the warm skin. "You were almost dead, Rio. I almost lost you for good because of this. How could you do something so reckless?"

"I told you before that he tricked me," I explained, again. "James convinced me that he had my mother, he was going to kill her if I didn't hand myself over. If I waited at the airport and brought you along then he would've killed her anyways. I needed to fight James on my own."

"Some fight," he whispered. "He nearly killed you."

I huffed as I turned towards him, smirking a little. If only he knew half of the things I got away with during our little rumble. "I got a few hits in too," I said, softly. "That's the other thing…I had a vision about James and myself. He was going to get me either way, but something told me that if I stood up to him then I could live. I think that's what the voice meant; standing up to James gave you enough time to get to me before it was too late."

"You have visions?" Edward said, ignoring that last bit. "Since when?"

"This was only the second one," I told him. "My first vision, I saw that you were a vampire long before you even told me. Whatever I am, there's a lot of magic behind me. I got to stab James in the foot with a knife that Charlie gave me, enchanted with some form of magic."

Edward reached a hand out towards me, touching my brow for a second. I saw that the details of the fight were just too much for him to hear right now. Hell, it was a little too much for me to remember right now. I really didn't want to think about how I almost died however long ago, I just wanted to go home with Edward.

I had to know though two things though.

"How badly damaged am I?" I asked him. "I'm sure that there were plenty of things wrong with me before I woke up."

"You lost a lot of blood," Edward began to explain. "The doctors needed to give you several transfusions, while they operated on you. Carlisle got all the glass out of you, but you had four broken ribs and a fractured leg and wrist. Miraculously enough though, the magic in your blood healed your fairly quickly. Whatever you are, Rio, it saved your life. No ordinary human could've survived what James put you through."

"And James?" I asked, softly. "Is he…"

"Gone forever," Edward finished for me. "Jasper and I tore him apart. He's gone for good now, the woman he was with ran away for good too. Esme and Rosalie chased her out of Forks. As soon as you finish recovering, we can go back."

I nodded my head, feeling a bit of a pain in my neck. I guess I was a little more sore then I expected to be. The magic hasn't fixed all of me just yet. "That's good," I whispered. "How am I right now though and how long I have been out for."

"Just two days and you're nearly completely healed," Edward said, shock present in his voice. "The doctors don't know how it's possible. There is a theory going around that you are a Mutant from X-Men."

"I'm Wolverine, badass," I said, laughing. That only hurt my ribs a little though so I needed to cut that out before I did anymore damage. "How are we going to explain this to everyone? Or did you already think of that?"

Edward started to chuckle as he got up from his kneeled position. His fingertips ran down my cheek with a smile present on his flawless features. It made me swoon, but I had to keep it cool before the machines when bonkers. "The official story is that I followed you to Phoenix and I got a hold of you to meet me at the hotel I was staying at. While you were on your way, you ended up falling down the stairs and went through a window," he said, chuckling still at my horror. "Alice had a lot of fun staging it all so that there wouldn't be any suspicions."

"I fell out a window?" I said, pushing his hand away. "Am I really that much of a klutz that everyone seemed to believe that?"

"Your mother did," he said. His fingertips touched my dropped jaw, pushing it back to close. He walked back and dropped himself down on a chair that was by the closed window. It was nightfall, which meant he was safe. "She arrived yesterday morning. By the way, she's coming up here right now. I need to fake being asleep before she gets too suspicious of me."

Before I could question him anymore though, Edward faked going to sleep. He covered himself with his coat just as I heard a familiar gasp at the door. I turned my head to the side and saw my mother rushing over towards me with a cup of coffee in hand. The joyous tears that ran down our faces brought up a lot of feelings for the both of us. Mostly her maternal worry about her only child nearly dying, while I was happy to truly see that James was playing a cruel joke on me and that my mother was still breathing.

Reneé wrapped her arms around my frail figure, gently though to mind my damages. She kissed my forehead before pulling away as she left behind salty tears on my face. "Rio, I was so worried about you," she said, still crying. "I thought I lost you…you have no idea how scared I was. I got a call from a strange man named Carlisle who told me everything. I've been getting calls from Charlie left and right too now. How could you just leave without telling me anything?"

"Sorry, mom," I said, softly. "I didn't really plan any of this through."

"You're damn right," she said, sounding disappointed but relieved at the same time. She just sighed as she kissed me again, running her hand through my hair. "I'm just so glad that you're alright now." She pulled away and looked over to Edward who was still faking being asleep. "He hasn't left your side since I got here. That's your boyfriend, right? Edward Cullen."

"Yeah," I said, smiling at her. "What do you think?"

"He's gorgeous," she said, laughing a little. I noticed the smirk on Edward's face, but luckily she didn't catch that. Reneé already had her eyes back on me so he got away with that one. "He seems like a sweet boy though. Maybe a little clingy though. I've never heard of someone flying halfway across the country just to get back together with someone they were dating…at least in real life."

"Some people would argue that life is just one, big movie," I said, softly.

Reneé had a smile on her face as she leaned over towards me. Her motherly grin just warmed my heart up and seemed to make all the pain in my body melt away into nothing. "Maybe so, but I do have some wonderful news though. Phil got drafted!" she said, happily. "He's still in Florida right now, filling out paperwork and getting the house. You'll love it down there, Rio. It's sunny all the time and the house is just beautiful! You'll have your own bathroom when you move back in and this massive closet."

"I'm not leaving with you, mom," I said, bursting her bubble. "I'm going back to Forks."

"Wait, why!" she said, sounding offended.

I bit down on my lip for only a second. This was going to be tricky to explain to my mother so I needed to take the noblest route out of there so she'd buy it. Plus, I could throw in my trump card to seal the deal. "I have to go back to Forks to finish the school year, school does come first. I have a lot of friends through and I can't just abandon everyone," I said, trying to maintain calm. "And there's Charlie. He's completely hopeless without me around; I need to take care of him. He needs me."

"And there's the boy," Reneé finished for me. "You want to see if you can make things work between you two."

"There's that too," I said, smiling. "Mom, I think I'm in love."

Reneé bit down on her lips next as she thought about everything I said. I could see that she was sucking all this information up as she made her decision about what to do with me. "Alright," she said, sounding defeated. "You're right; I think it would be a good idea for you to stay in Forks, for now. I just want you to promise me that the next time you decide to run off like that you call me right away so I can come get you! Am I understood, Ilario Joseph Swan?"

"Yes ma'am," I said, reverting back to being a ten year old boy.

"Good," she said, smiling at me. She kissed me one more time before pulling away. She grabbed her coffee and pulled out her cell phone from her purse. "I need to call Phil and let him know that you're awake. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. I love you, Rio."

"I love you too, mom."

When she was gone, Edward sprang back up in less than a second. He tossed his coat off his chest and was back to standing by my side again. The look in his eyes worried me though as I began to wonder just what thoughts were running around in his mind. Of course it had to do with something I told my mom, but I didn't know what.

He would tell me soon enough though. It's just all this anticipation was killing me…no pun intended at all. "You love me?" Edward said, softly. "Do you really mean that, Rio?"

"Of course, Edward," I said to him. "I wouldn't have come this far if I didn't love you. Edward, you are my first everything. I gave you my heart, soul, and body. Isn't it obvious that I love you? It's not like I'm some man-whore who throws himself at any guy with hard abs. You mean more to me then you can ever realize."

Instead of the reaction that I was hoping for, I got a sigh from Edward. He ran his hand through his bronze hair before turning away from me, his hands resting on his waist. "Your love for me can only get you killed, Rio," he said, calmly. He turned around to face me again; the look on his face spoke determination. "We were lucky that I was able to save you this time. What if another James comes around? You cannot love me, Rio. I will only be the end for you."

"No," I said, firmly. "I'm not giving up on this, Edward. I love you. Can you honestly tell me that you don't feel the same way about me? Can you honestly say that you don't love me?"

Edward tensed up for a moment. He looked away from me and I could feel some sadness oozing out from his pores. "I can't deny my feelings for you, Rio," Edward confessed. "I love you more than anyone I've ever met in my long existence. But your life and safety means so much more to me, if staying away from you keeps you alive then it is what I must do. I'd rather you be alive and free to love another then to risk your death by one of my kind."

"Edward," I said, pushing for his attention, "I'm a big boy. I can make my own decisions. And I decided that I want to be with you. You're the one I love and who I want to be with. Promise me that you won't go away…unless I tell you too."

I only threw in that last part to humor him, but he took it very seriously.

Edward leaned in closer towards me, his lips hovering over mind. I felt his cold skin wafting off and touching my warm body as I looked into his loving, hazel eyes. "Then I promise you, Rio, that I'll be with you until you ask me to leave," he whispered to me.

He gently leaned in to kiss me, renewing my hope in us.

* * *

**Epilogue – An Occasion:**

"Can you take this damn blindfold off me?" I yelled at Edward, while he drove probably like a maniac.

"Not unless you promise to behave tonight," Edward said, chuckling as he watched my misery. "I don't want to hear any complains from you tonight."

"I don't even know where we're going!" I snapped, swatting his well-muscled arm. I felt a tiny tingle of pain as I brought my hand back, feeling the sleeve to my coat. "Why am I all dressed up in this tux anyways? Edward, you better explain to me what the hell is going on before I go Buffy on your ass!"

"Alright, I'll take that as your promise."

He pulled the blindfold away from my eyes so I could finally see. It took only a few seconds for my eyes to adjust since it was nightfall already. I rubbed them a little just to take out the little stars I was seeing when I noticed that Edward and I were both dressed up in matching tuxedos. Granted, I thought his looked way better then the one I was wearing. His coat fitted him perfectly with the outlines of his muscles flexing with everyone movement he made. The red vest and stripped tie added a nice touch to the outfit with his hair combed neatly to make him look like a high class model. I wore the same things as him so there was no need to explain it, except that I looked terrible in it.

Edward didn't seem to think so as he leaned over and kissed my cheek. He had a smile on his face as he pulled away so he could pretend to pay attention to the road. "You look beautiful," he said, smiling. "I'm a very lucky, undead boy."

"Damn right, now where the hell are we going?"

"That's a surprise," he said, taking the incoming turn.

I sighed, smacking him again for good measure. I looked off to the rear-view mirror to see what Alice came rushing into the house to do to me. My bangs had a weird swish that made it look all wavy to match the rest of the styling she gave me. I had to admit though that my hair felt very soft like there was a pillow attached to my head.

We were dressed so nicely that I had to assume he was taking me out somewhere fancy. I don't know how he got me passed Charlie though, considering the awkward return back to Forks I had. Sure Edward was a smooth talker, but Charlie was seriously on the defensive right now.

After I was released from the hospital, I went back to Forks with Edward and a cast on my leg as a souvenir. Alice and Jasper got us from the airport, I had to apologize to them both a million times for running off on them, but they were oddly cool with it. I guess they knew it was just something I had to do. They were amazed though that I actually used my powers to block their abilities though, which they had to admit was something amazing.

Our first stop back in Forks was the Cullen house. I thanked Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett for everything they did to keep Charlie safe, I especially thanked Carlisle for saving me. They were all happy to see that I was just safe, even Rosalie looked a little relieved to see me back in one piece.

The reunion though with Charlie was a little rocky to start with. I just popped up at his doorstep with my bag and a broken leg. We hadn't talked that much on the phone before then, he just asked if I was coming back or not before hanging up. When he got me inside the house, I got a punch on the arm that stung like hell. Charlie was actually crying as he yelled at me about how stupid and selfish I was for what I did. I had the guy worried sick and that just broke my heart to see him break down like that. Surprisingly enough though, he didn't try to hit me again. He just hugged me and said that he was so happy to have me back. I told him how sorry I was and promised to make it up to him somehow.

School flew by after that, the rest of my sophomore year flew before my eyes. It was like a giant blur. I don't even remember studying for finals since I was too busy trying to get Edward to touch me again. And I don't mean like in a perverse, rapist kind of way, I mean like I want my boyfriend to not be afraid to hold me. It was a miracle that I just got a kiss from him right now even though I got the leg cast taken off last week.

Back to the long car ride to the unknown, I just began to stare at Edward with an uncomfortable glare in hopes of forcing some answers out of him.

Edward didn't take the hint though. He simply ignored me just as his phone began to ring, which he answered while operating a motor vehicle! Gasp, Charlie, give him a ticket. "Hello?" his velvety, smooth voice said to the unknown caller. "Hello, Chief Swan." Why was Charlie calling him? "Really, so he didn't listen to Rio. Well then, you should probably tell Tyler to go home, Rio already has his date. Goodbye, Chief Swan. I'll have Rio back by curfew."

He hung up the phone and dropped it in the cup holder. As soon as the word date escaped his lips, I already pieced everything together and was ready to kill Edward. That and dropping Tyler's name didn't help his cause out at all. I wish I had something sharp to stab him with just to show him how mad I was.

"Prom!" I shouted at him. "You're taking me to prom! You know how much I hate dances."

"Yeah, well, you nearly got yourself killed only a month ago," Edward said, pulling into the parking lot of the school. "Going to a school dance with me is the least you can do to make up from almost making me lose you."

"This is coming from the guy who barely touches me," I said just as he opened the door. The couple next to use heard that last bit and I suddenly turned beat red from embarrassment. Edward was already at my door and helping me out, but I only punched him on the shoulder. I was still very much mad at him. "I was only trying to save you too! James wanted you to come after him so he can kill you too."

Edward ignored me as he closed the door and locked up the car. He took my hand, leading me to the dreadful dance that was housed at our gym. It was the only place in town big enough to house all these hormone ragging teenagers. "I purpose a compromise then," he said, smiling at me. "You give me this night to dance with my handsome boyfriend, let me have whatever I want, then we can go back to your place and shack up like rabbits."

We made it inside to the Paris themed dance and he paid for the cost to get in. I told him that I was holding him to this promise as he lead me to the crowd. Everything was decked out like a cheap, Paris themed dance with pictures of the Eifel Tower and shinny streamers, which I found to be a little hilarious. They even had a cover band playing cheesy love songs.

I only rolled my eyes as I turned towards Edward. "You really want to come to this?" I said, shaking my head. "You could've at least took me to Seattle to dance. There would've been better music at least."

"Now I know for next time," he chuckled, leaning in to kiss my neck. "You know, my brothers and sisters are here. We can turn this night into a bloody massacre if that makes you feel any better."

"Don't joke," I said, swooning from his touch. "I just might take you up on that offer."

His hand brushed against my right wrist, running against my scar. I felt my body tense up for a second, but I quickly calmed down as I turned around to look at Edward. The scar would be a constant reminder of how close I was to death, of how close James was to killing me. But the ice-blue scar would also remind me of how much Edward loved me and risked his own humanity just to save me.

I relaxed in Edward's arms as he wrapped them around my waist. Mine went around his neck and we danced closely, our eyes locked as we danced around in our private space. It took me a while but I eventually caught glimpses of everyone else. Mike was dancing with Jessica, Angela was with Eric. Emmett and Rosalie looked absolutely fierce together, the gorgeous couple that everyone envied in every shape and form. Alice and Jasper, whoever, just appeared to be graceful as they danced together, looking very sweet and carefree as they held onto each other.

It made me wonder what people thought of us. Were we just the gross homos that were tainting the backbone of America. Or was there actually something appealing to us that made other people envy us our at least think we were cute together. I'm still not sure why everyone was so obsessed with me when I first came here, but I think maybe it had to deal with my powers. My magic only developed when I came to Forks, maybe I can cast a spell on everyone so that I can make sure that no one tries to jump me after the dance. I was still shocked to see that happen to Justin on Queer as Folk.

"You are truly amazing, Rio," Edward whispered to me. "You know that I love you, right?"

"But do you mean that?" I asked him. "Does the Adonis, Edward Cullen, truly love an unworthy peasant such as myself?"

"Let's just say you are my Helen of Troy," he said, holding me closer. "I'd go to war for you."

The way his body began to tense up started to worry me for a second. I notice him looking off to the side, but when I followed his glance, I was surprised to see that Jacob Black was coming our way. There were two other guys with him, but they quickly ditched him as he got closer to us. My mind suddenly drifted off to the vision I had months ago of Edward and Jacob. Edward was willing to go to war for me, so did that make Jacob the Trojans to Edward's Greeks.

Jacob didn't seem to take in the looks of hostility to heart as he bounced over towards us. He was coatless and his hair flowed down his back, looking like it was desperately in need to be cut. The white long-sleeve that he wore had the sleeves rolled up with a black, skinny tie running down to go with the black slacks he wore.

"Hey Rio," Jacob said, happily. "Why am I surprise that you're here."

"Shouldn't I be asking you that, Jacob?" I said, freeing myself from Edward's hold. "I actually go to school here, you're just party crashing."

"That you can blame on my pops," said Jacob. He looked Edward up and down, which lead to another flashback of my vision. I saw the wolf that Jacob became just before his fight with Edward began. I snapped out of that though, seeing Jacob hold his hand out to Edward. "I'm Jacob Black, a family friend of Rio and Charlie's. Do you mind if I steal Rio away from you for a few minutes?"

Edward looked like he was calculating every possible scenario before finally relaxing. He nodded his head and relaxed his hold on my hand. "Go ahead, Jacob," he said, calmly. "I needed to talk to my sister for a moment anyways. I'll be back in a few."

He walked away from me, leaving me alone with Jacob.

Jacob held his hands out to me and I took the hint. As wrong as this probably was, I started to dance with Jacob. He had his arms on my waist and I had mine on his neck as I began to feel oddly short.

"Did you grow again?" I asked.

"Yeah," Jacob said, chuckling a little. "I'm almost at six foot and I'm eating everything in the house faster than Billy could stock up on groceries."

"Remind me to never leave you alone at a buffet."

We shared a laugh with that one as we continued to dance. I could see that Jacob was changing a lot, only an idiot couldn't see that one. He didn't look as scrawny as he used to when I first got to Forks. He looked like he was bulking up a little, I felt some muscle actually growing to go along with the basketball player height he was shooting for.

"So what's the real reason why you're here, Jake?" I asked. "What did Billy have to do to get you out of the house?"

Jacob sighed as he stopped dancing as a guilty look appeared on his face. He pulled himself away, digging his hands into his pockets, making him look extremely guilty of some horrible crime. "Don't hate me, Rio, but Billy wanted me to deliver a message for you," he said, sounding disgusted with himself. "He promised to pay for that last part I needed to fix up my car, I was pretty desperate!"

"You're forgiven," I told him before he had an aneurism. I grabbed onto his arms to shake the guilty and apology out of him. This message that Billy wanted Jake to give me was giving me a bad feeling, which really made me think about the war thing. "What did he want you to tell me?"

"That's the thing, I don't get it at all," said Jacob. "All he said was that 'we'll be watching'. It sounds like he has a mob hit out on your or something."

A mob hit or something that probably sounded about right. This vision where my blood leads to a war thing was really starting to freak me out. I was really hoping that this had nothing to do with that war…he really hoped.

"Weird," I said, shaking my head. "I guess he really doesn't approve of me dating Edward."

"That seems like it," he said to me. "Sorry Rio. I don't want to get between you two. If the guy makes you happy then he can't be that bad, right?"

"Right," I said, nodding in agreement. "Hopefully your dad won't drag you into any of this again. You should go have fun, hit on a few seniors and see where that gets you."

"Serious?" he said, sounding excited. "I have your blessing?"

"Go for it, Jake."

"Alright!" he said, clapping his hands together. "See ya, Rio. Take care."

He ran off back to the crowd where his party crashing friends were waiting. I watched him leaving, shaking my head as I began to feel bad for any poor girl he would flirt with. I turned back around to see Alice coming towards me instead of Edward. Speaking of Edward, where the hell was my boyfriend.

Before I could ask Alice about him, she grabbed me and started to drag me away. The initial panic of the massacre began to freak me out until I saw that Alice was dragging me to the stage. There was an open mic at the center of the stage and suddenly it all made a lot of sense to me. I noticed Edward walking away from the stage, a smile present on that devilish face of his.

"No, Alice!" I shouted at her. "Please, don't."

"Edward has it all planned," Alice said, smiling at me. "Just sing your favorite song, the band already has it memorized. Sing your heart out, boy!"

She pushed me to the stage with the guitarist dragging me up there. Alice got on the stage behind me, getting everyone's attention as she promised a special performance. I suddenly wanted to kill her too now even after I helped her find records of her biological family. I tried to beg her again, but she was too skilled at getting me to do as she wanted.

"Give it up for Rio Swan!" she said, disappearing as soon as she spoke.

I was left on the stage, a band behind me and a crowd of my peers in front. There was some cheering, but there was plenty of confused looks to go along with the one I had. I was biting down on my lips as I looked out to the crowd, seeing Jacob cheering me on. Edward wasn't too far from him, smiling at my misery, while I really wanted to stake him.

The band began to play though, snapping out my vengeful trance. My singer pride prevented me from running off and making a fool of myself as I waited until it was my cue to sing. The words escaped my lips without even thinking as the final piano note came to life.

"When the moon fell in love with the sun all was golden in the sky, all was golden when the day met the night."

"When the sun found the moon, she was drinking tea in a garden under the green umbrella trees in the middle of summer. When the moon found the sun, he looked like he was barely hanging on, but her eyes saved his life in the middle of summer (summer).""In the middle of summer all was golden in the sky. All was golden when the day met the night summer (summer). All was golden in the sky, all was golden when the day met the night. Summer, summer, summer, summer. All was golden when the day met the night.""So he said, 'would it be all right if we just sat and talked for a little while if in exchange for your time I give you this smile? So she said, 'that's okay as long as you can make a promise not to break my little heart or leave me all alone in the summer.""Well he was just hanging around then he fell in love and he didn't know how but he couldn't get out just hanging around then he fell in love.""In the middle of summer all was golden in the sky, all was golden when the day met the , all was golden in the sky, all was golden when the day met the night. Summer, summer, summer, summer. When the moon fell in love with the sun, all was golden in the sky, all was golden when the day met the night.""Summer, summer, summer, summer. In the middle of summer, summer, summer, summer. The middle of summer, summer, summer, summer. The middle of summer, summer, summer, summer. In the middle of…"

The song was over and I gave off a heavy sigh as I stepped away from the mic. There was a lot of applause for me, which was surprising since I didn't think I did that well. Everyone was happy with my signing though and that was all that matters. The applause didn't calm down as I got down from the stage with people patting me on the back as I passed by them.

After a minute or so, they calmed down and parted like the sea as the band resumed playing. I found Edward hiding by a table with a cheesy grin on his face. I smacked him again on the arm, although I knew that it wouldn't do any good. Not like my pathetic smacks would actually hurt him any.

Edward took my hands and gently pulled me towards him. I bumped into his chest with him leaning down to kiss me. "I thought you'd enjoy performing on stage," he said, rubbing his face against my cheek. "You have a beautiful voice."

"So setting up this performance was what you needed to talk to Alice about?" I said, leaning against him.

"Not just that," he said, softly. "Alice found your Hel." I looked up to him with curious eyes, surprised that Alice even remembered. He nodded his head as he dragged me away to an area of the gym that was a little more private. Once we were safe, he began to speak again. "Hel is from Norse Mythology. It refers to two things: the Underworld or the goddess who is in charge of the Underworld."

I wasn't exactly sure how happy I should be about this. I was somehow connected to the Underworld, which didn't sound that pleasant for me. "Then the voice was basically damning me to Hell?" I asked. "At least we narrowed down the million of possibilities to a thousand or so."

"It's progress," he said, pulling away from me. His hands were still holding onto mine as we kept our distance. He spun me around as the song changed into something a little more romantic. "I don't care what you are, Rio. All I know is that I love you. You are my only ray of light in this dark life."

"Then why do you keep pulling away from me?" I asked as he spun me around again.

Edward caught me and tipped me over. He leaned in close to me, my heart pounding as I worried that he was going to drop me. "Because I want you to make the right decision," he said, softly. "I'd rather you end up living a long, human life then be with me. But I also want to be selfish and keep you by my side forever."

"You know how to fix that," I said to him. "If you turn me we can be together forever."

"Not now, Rio," he whispered to me. "Let's just worry about right now, about the rest of our day together."

"Okay," I whispered.

We leaned together, sharing a lengthy kiss as we enjoyed the rest of our night together.


	6. New Moon I

Author's Note: WOOOOHOOOO! Here is the first chapter for New Moon, which means things are about to get very fiesty! You will soon find out what Rio is when he meets the Voltori so that's something to look forward to. As always, read and review!

**Party:**

_I was alone as I pushed my body through the foggy woods. The thick blanket obscured my vision until I could finally see it on the other side of the tree. I pushed forward and eventually reached the famous clearing of flowers that I learned all of Edward's dirty secrets. I wasn't alone though, there was someone else who stepped out from the woods the same time I did._

_My mind had to be playing tricks on me; there was just no way that this could be physically possible. I looked out in front of me and saw my gramps standing on the other side of the clearing. For a second, I forgot to breathe as I walked forward to famous my deceased grandfather, the father of my father. He walked towards me as well, looking equally lost and confused as I did. _

_This was odd and I knew that this had to be a trick. It looked too real though, he was my grandfather down to the last wrinkle, the oversized cardigan, and the hideous clogs of shoes that he liked to wear. He looked in every sense and way like my gramps, but this just couldn't be him, could it?_

_Then again, weirder things had happened to me since I met Edward…_

"_Gramps?" I said, fighting through my confusion. "Is that really you?"_

_Gramps just stood there and looked equally as dumbfounded as I did. I stretched my hand out to him as he did the same with me. Our hands were nearly about to touch when I felt a familiar chill in the air. It wasn't until I heard him calling that I began to shake out of my zombie of a trance._

"_Rio."_

_Edward was emerging from the foggy woods to the sunlit clearing. He looked as godly and magnificent as ever as he walked towards me in a black suit. There was comfort and strength radiating from the body of my vampire boyfriend, making me freeze for a second as I remember gramps. Edward was getting too close to us, to the sunlight!  
_

_I panicked for a moment, yelling at Edward to stop walking. Dead or not, I wasn't sure how I was going to explain that my boyfriend sparkles to my grandfather. But it looked like I wouldn't need to because gramps didn't seem effected by any of this. He just shrugged it off like nothing as Edward came towards us, sparkling in the sunlight. _

_I instinctively held out my hand to Edward, but he walked passed me. He touched my grandfather, stroking his chin, which freaked me out. Gramps looked like he was lost in bliss, but that's when it shattered. There was a mirror in front of me with a reflection of gramps trapped inside of it._

_Only it wasn't gramps…it was me._

"_Happy birthday, Rio," Edward whispered to the old me._

I gave out a horrid gasp as I woke up from my dream. Not a dream, it was more of a nightmare to be honest. I was shaking underneath my covers, my body was locked in shock from the horrible nightmare that I just had. I gulped it down though, sending the horrid aftertaste of it all down to oblivion were it belonged.

Shrugging my covers off, I jumped out of bed to embrace the worst day of the year. Today was the day that I turned seventeen and I would now be the same age as Edward. Starting tomorrow, I would slowly reach up to his days until eventually I would be a day older than him. From then on, I'd be older than Edward and keep getting older while he remained the same age.

I tried not think about it as I got ready for school on this "fine" September day, but who was I if I didn't think about all this?

Going into my closet to pick out something plan, I grabbed what I wanted to wear today. I shrugged into a pair of skinny jeans and a fitted tee with a light sweater over that. I went into the bathroom to finish my morning routine before I'd have to greet the outside world. I quickly rushed through fixing my hair and brushing my teeth then went downstairs to eat something really quick.

With all of that done and my needs met, I went towards the front door just as the bell rang. As I opened the door, I was greeted with the most wonderful thing in the world. Edward Cullen stood on the other side with a soft smile on his face and his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Like always, he looked amazing and I felt stupid for dressing up so plainly when I had to compete with this guy.

"Morning, Rio," he said, holding his hand out for me to take. I took it like I did every morning and he brought me in for a kiss. His cold lips touched mine and I felt sparks flying off in my head as he closed the door behind me. "Happy‒"

"Finish that sentence and I'll stake you right now," I said before he could say those evil words. "What did I tell you yesterday, mister? I don't want to hear that."

Edward just rolled his eyes at me. He couldn't understand why I was so against my birthday considering that every other human on the world looked forward to it. He didn't need to understand though because I was his boyfriend and he needed to respect my wishes.

Hence why, I laid down martial law. He couldn't say anything about my date of birth and there would be no giving of the presents. He could shower me with all the presents and compliments he wanted on Christmas, Valentine's Day, our anniversary, and any other day of the year, but NOT on my birthday. That was the rule and he was just going to have to deal with it.

Not wanting to invoke any wrath from me, Edward just escorted me over to his Volvo. He drove us to school and we talked about what I had planned for the day. I said that I had nothing to do other then maybe get started on my Economics report. We were barely a week into my junior year at Forks High School and I already had a report to turn in.

How lame was that?

I suppose it could be worse though. Edward could've ignored my wishes and allowed Alice to throwing me that birthday party that she was just dying for. I was hell-bent on now allowing that to happen so let's keep our fingers crossed that they both listened to my strict commands.

We made it to school in record time though. Edward opened the door from me like a true gentleman, which was something I was getting used to. Sometimes, I forgot that Edward was from a whole other era where guys actually had manners and weren't douche bags that thought they were the Situation. Edward's fingers linked around mine and I felt myself blushing as he walked with me towards the millions of portables that were lurking around us.

As we walked, I passed by many familiar faces. Most of the kids I knew by now and greeted them politely which they did the same back for us. It was odd just how many people here were cool with the whole gay thing and actually supported the relationship I had with Edward. Most of them, not like that psycho bitch Lauren. She was just a bitch who had something die up her vag, which was my guess at least.

Anyways, Edward and I were walking to class when I felt the wind blow behind me. I only had a second to brace myself from being attacked by Alice. Edward's "sister" would not stop fighting with me about the birthday party that she was so desperate for me to have.

"Did we not have a pact to not say the b-word?" I growled.

"I'm throwing you a party, Rio!" Alice said, firmly. "And you're going to be there freely or against your will, understood?"

I gulped, suddenly feeling a little bit afraid of Alice. You'd think that since I helped her find her biological family turned the summer that she'd be…sane. But nope, she was just so hell-bent on throwing a party for me that I was too scared to disagree with her.

"Fine," I said, surrendering her, "but please just don't make a big deal over it."

Alice just smiled with her latest victory as she began to walk away. "Don't worry, Rio," she said, triumphantly, "you'll love it! I've already seen in."

Like that, she took off to who knows where. I just growled with my frustration as I bumped my head against Edward's hard chest. His arms locked around my waist, holding me close as I was forced into a living nightmare.

"Why do I fall for your sister's traps?" I mumbled into his chest.

"You know the rules, Rio," Edward said, simply. "Never bet against Alice."

I hated that stupid rule so much. Alice's clairvoyance took all the fun out of everything. I was forced to cave in, while parting ways with Edward to suffer another day at school. It wasn't until lunch that I'd be reunited with him at our massive lunch table full of people.

Now Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie graduated for the hundredth time, people weren't so afraid of the Cullen kids. The private table I used to share with Edward last year gained many new members with multiple tables joining with us. Alice was of course going to sit beside us, but there was an invisible line that my human friends sat at. I could name everyone by heart now with the list ranging from Mike, Jessica, and Angela to Tyler, Eric, Ben, and Lauren.

Speaking of Mike, I sat with him in my Economics class. He changed his hair up during the summer, which I noticed while I worked with him at his parents' sporting goods store. It was painfully obvious that the spikier, mature look was a cheap imitation of Edward, but he was far from being anything like him. I had to give him points for trying though, but the guy needed to move on from his bisexual fantasy and stick with Jessica.

Lunch went by in a flash and so did the rest of my day until I reunited with Edward in English. We sat together in the very back of the room so that nobody could bother us, especially not the teacher. We would spent most of the period just talking to one another, not giving damn that the teacher was talking, especially since we both knew more about the coursework then he did.

Today, we were watching Romeo & Juliet, a favorite of mine which Edward hated with gusto.

"Romeo has it so easily," Edward whispered to me. "Humans in general do. They can end their lives easily without any opposition. I wish I could end my existence as easily as you could."

"Why would you want to?" I asked. "Am I that repulsive to you?"

Edward just shook his head at me, looking at me with those sorrowful, hazel colored eyes. "No, you are wonderful," he whispered. "It's just when James…when he nearly killed you, I thought of what I'd do if I lost you for good. If the unthinkable happens before your time then I already have it planned out…how I'll destroy myself."

"How?" I asked, honestly curious. I remembered what he told me about Carlisle, how he tried to destroy himself but only failed at every turn. I wasn't comfortable about talking this, but I figured I should at least here him out before talking to Carlisle and Esme about it.

"I'd go to the Volturi," Edward said, simply. "I'd provoke them until they finally saw the need to destroy me."

I could vaguely remember something about the Volturi. I remember him saying that they were the oldest of their kind and the closest thing to the law in the vampire world. They were obviously powerful so it worried me that Edward would even turn to them if something were to ever happen to me. I didn't say anything else though as I clung onto his arm, returning my attention to the movie in front of me.

The class ended quickly though, Edward and I were locked in silence when the lights came on.

Edward took me home, already informing me that Alice would have the decorations ready by that night. He'd come back to pick me up then and I would need to be finished by the time he showed up again. He kissed me goodbye, saying he needed to prepare, while I reminded him of the no presents rule.

"You really need to stop being so difficult, Ilario," Edward said as he returned to his car. "You should really try to be a little more normal."

"You wouldn't like me if I was normal," I said, before closing the door on me.

I went up to my room to get ready for this dreadful party that Alice was so desperate to throw for me. Maybe I should heed Edward's advice this once and try to enjoy myself. I should try to enjoy my boyfriend because with any luck this could very well be my last one.

When I got up to my room, I looked to my desk where my presents laid. Charlie bought me a brand new camera, while Reneé bought the camera and a scrapbook to go with it. They worked together on this one for the first time since like ever because they wanted me to remember my final two years of high school. They wanted me to treasure all those memories, but I wasn't too sure I wanted to keep them considering I was rooting on becoming a vampire soon. I had to humor them though, I had a few pictures in the memory card, but not much. Mostly just some of Edward and Charlie watching TV then one of me with Edward.

Despite learning some cool tricks from my non-human half, I still wanted to join Edward in eternity as a vampire. I waved my hand forward a little to cause the scrapbook to open and close, I was getting used to this telekinesis deal. With any luck and a lot of practice, I might actually be able to lift something over towards me. Until then, I left my stuff unattended as I returned downstairs to fix something for Charlie to eat.

By the time Charlie came home, I was just finished with making his dinner of leftover meatloaf with freshly mashed potatoes.

"Something smells great," Charlie said as he walked into the kitchen.

"It's your dinner," I told him. "I'm going to spend the night out with Edward, is that alright?"

"Yeah, Alice already filled me in on it," Charlie said, walking over to his food. He completely blew me off as he picked up his plate. "I think it's a great idea. Go have fun kiddo."

I just rolled my eyes at him, while he wolfed down the dinner I made from him. Things were a little strained between us, but I could say that we've come a long way since I ran off to hide from James. Edward was still a sore subject for Charlie and so was talking about said night, but Charlie was a big fan of Alice. Oh yeah, Charlie was totally Team Alice, Alice could do no wrong in his eyes.

I told Charlie that I was leaving as I grabbed my coat to throw over my shirt. I made my way over to the Beast, seeing Edward leaning against the door. He was dressed up rather nicely, making me feel a tad underdressed as I looked towards his flawlessness. He held his hand to me, which I accepted once more, allowing him to drive my truck.

The Beast's engine roared and soon we took off, making our way to his family's home.

As usual though, Edward complained about my truck being too slow for his standards. "It means nothing at all," Edward told me, the hundredth time. "I can buy you a new car. Something with a little more speed perhaps."

"Don't diss the Beast," I warned him. "I'll kick your ass."

We made it to the house without my trouble, but he still wouldn't' give up about the damn car. I already knew that money meant nothing to his family, especially when they have a seer who could tell them stock market trends. I couldn't accept something so expensive though, not for free. That's not how I was raised.

I followed Edward inside his house, quickly being greeted by the Cullen family. I could see silver streamers all over the place and a few balloons floating amongst the ceilings of the house. I only shook my head, seeing everything else that Alice did. There was no holding Alice back, I'm surprised she didn't bring the president over here for my party.

"Happy Birthday Rio!" Alice cheered along with everyone else.

Edward wasn't kidding when he told me that this was a big deal for them. Birthdays didn't mean a thing in the vampire world, but this was different for them. A human birthday was a little more exciting to them then their own, I suppose.

For a moment, I ignored the fact that the party was way over directed for just the eight of us. I was simply lost at how magnificent each and every one of them looked. They were all so amazing and perfect, while I was just the Average Joe who was invading their perfection parade.

I was surprised to see Rosalie and Emmett there, especially since they were supposed to be off in Africa for another one of their honeymoons. I noticed that Carlisle was present as well; no doubt he took the evening off from working at the hospital to celebrate my birthday. Everyone looked so happy, minus Rosalie who was still just a bitch, but whatever. I began to melt and gave into the party that Alice worked so hard to throw for me.

I thanked everyone and found myself soon ambushed by presents as Emmett disappeared. The first was a giant box that made me curious to see what was in it. I tore it apart since I was never one who was patient for the wrapping paper. What I saw though was just a white box with a bunch of Chinese letters all over it.

"What?" I asked, very confused.

"It's a new radio for your car," Jasper said, smiling. "Emmett is installing it for you right now. It's a gift from the two of us.

"Thank you, Jasper," I said. "Thank you, Emmett!" I made sure to shout that loud enough so he could hear me. I could hear his bearish chuckle from inside, while he played with my Beast.

"And this is from me and Rosalie," said Alice.

I picked up another wrapped box, smiling as I held it up. It felt like clothes and would no doubt be something expensive since I knew both of their tastes. Alice was excited as she watched me mess around with it, while Rosalie looked as apathetic as ever.

I sighed, while Emmett returned and I began to take off the paper when I felt a sharp sting. My body tensed up for a moment as I looked down to my finger and saw a drop of blood coming from it. "Damn, paper cut," I mumbled like nothing. I just shrugged it off, but suddenly I felt the air in the room growing intense.

The moment I lifted my head, I saw Jasper's eyes turn bloodshot.

Within a split second, everything changed. Edward jumped in front of me, pushing me away, and pushed Jasper away from me. Time felt like it was slowing down, but it wasn't because of my powers this time. I flew back across the room, seeing Emmett and Rosalie keeping Jasper away before I felt myself crash. I knew I hit the wall and I heard glass shattering as I crashed.

I collapsed to the ground, feeling pain all over my right arm. I looked at my arm as multiple open wounds appeared with blood flowing freely. Panic began to run all over my body as I looked up and saw the bloodlust in the vampires' eyes. Every nerve in my body told me to play dead just then, while something else burned and told me to stand my ground.

All I knew was that I was seriously fucked!

* * *

**Stitches:**

The fear of being ripped to shreds was present on my face as I looked upon six, very hungry looking vampires. My flight-or-fight response wasn't too much for me as I was in complete shock, too afraid to move even a muscle. I wanted to pee myself, but I was too afraid to even do that as I bleed all over the floor.

"Enough!" Carlisle said, breaking through the silent tension. His voice sounded strong and affirming, which effectively broke through all the trance we were all in. "Emmett and Rosalie, get Jasper out of here, now!"

Emmett and Rosalie broke through their trance, dragging a lifeless Jasper outside of the house. I looked at the three of them, each one baring a similar look of disappointment. Rosalie turned to me and for the first time since I met her I actually saw her give me a look of something other then utter revolution. Her looked screamed worry and pity to me, which left me afraid as she closed the door behind them.

Alice stood there, her hands shaking as she fought for control. I knew Alice had never felt the strong need for blood like the others, but I knew this was probably testing all her patience. "I'm sorry," Alice said, weakly. "I need to go." She ran out of the house with the look of shame present. I'm guessing she didn't see this one in her vision.

"I'm sorry, Rio," Esme said as she left as well.

Carlisle rushed to my side, picking me up in his arms. I felt a little light-headed at this point from the blood lost and the sudden head rush. He apologized for that as I craned my neck a little to see Edward standing like a statue. The look in his eyes scared me more then Jasper's bloodlust and Rosalie's sympathetic look. I wanted to say something, but Carlisle stopped me before I could do anything.

"Edward, go outside with the others," Carlisle said, firmly.

"I can stay," Edward said, his form shaking as he spoke. "I can handle it."

"Go Edward," I said, pushing myself to speak. "Jasper needs you. Carlisle will take care of me."

That seemed to be enough to get Edward to do something. He only nodded his head as he went out the door to where the rest of his family was. I watched him leave as Carlisle rushed me upstairs to his office, getting me as far away from his family as he could to tend to my injuries.

Carlisle laid me down on the sofa, carefully wrapping up my arm in a towel. He quickly went to work on retrieving the broken shards of glass from my arm, the only part of me that was bleeding. I hurt a little to feel the tweezers dig into my meat, but I remembered the pain of being bitten by a vampire was much worse.

I watched Carlisle who was carefully focused into his work. It made me laugh a little as I rested my head against the comfy pillow for support. "How are you so calm?" I asked. "Everyone else wanted to drink me till I was dead, but you're acting like its nothing."

"Because your blood doesn't affect me," Carlisle said, simply. "I've been around for centuries, Rio, the bloodlust doesn't affect me as strongly as I does the others. That's why I can work as a doctor. I wouldn't be very good at if I couldn't control myself and constantly need to drink my patients to death."

"Good point," I said, closing my eyes for a second. "Carlisle, can you explain to me why Edward is dead set against letting me become like one of you?"

I heard Carlisle sigh as he pulled out another shard of glass. I faintly heard him say it was the last one before getting up to get something from his doctor bag. I was thankful that he wasn't dragging me into the hospital. If I had gone there then Charlie would've found out and that would have been very, very bad.

Carlisle knelt down beside me and I saw him with stitching thread. Yeah, I would need stitches to clean this nastiness up. "It's because of your soul," Carlisle finally said to me. "Edward doesn't want you to become like us because he doesn't want to destroy your soul." He kept working on lacing my arm up, while I listened to his words. "He is a believer of God, Heaven, and the soul just like I am, but he sees us only as monsters though. He believes that once we become what we are that our souls die with our human lives. There is nothing but pain and misery that waits for us when our second life is lost."

"That's crazy though!" I said, arguing with Edward's claim. "Why would God or any higher power punish someone who is good! Who does good things with their lives and fights their evil nature?"

"I try to help him see that light, but Edward refuses," Carlisle said. "You know, Edward reminds me so much of his mother. I had the honor of knowing Edward's parents before they died. Edward Masen Senior died first, the flu had torn this hard working man apart. His mother, Elizabeth, only hastened her death by tending to her son. Edward would've died before his mother had she not gave up so much of her energy to care for him. She was the one who asked me to save him. No one knew what I really was, but the look she gave me as she begged me to save her son made me think she knew. She asked me to save him the only way that I could."

For a moment, I felt my eyes glaze over as I saw a beautiful woman with bronze colored hair appear in my mind. Her warm smile and her emerald colored eyes radiated with warmth and purity. My mind returned to reality as Carlisle continued his story. He told me how he pretended that Edward was dead before sneaking him off to his apartment where he turned him.

The change took every bit of self-control that Carlisle had. Edward survived the process and here we were today.

"Rio?" I craned my head to the side and saw Edward standing in the doorway. He looked so guilty that I just broke my heart. I wanted to go up to him, but Carlisle kept me on the couch as he finished working on my arm.

With the last snip, he released me from his hold.

"I'll give you a few aspirins to help numb the pain," Carlisle said as he handed me the pills.

I swallowed them quickly, feeling a little better already. After that, I went over to Edward and he wrapped his arms around me for a second. Only a second though, his arms released me, making my stomach drop a little.

"We should get you home now," Edward whispered.

I nodded my head and followed Edward downstairs. I saw the ruined party with the smell of bleach in the air as Esme mopped up my bloody mess. I apologized to her, but she only just laughed and told me that it wasn't my fault.

Rosalie came out from the kitchen with Emmett following behind her. In her arms where my unopened presents that she handed over to Edward considering my bad arm. "Alice is taking care of Jasper," Rosalie said, calmly. She turned her head towards me and I saw the pity in her dark eyes as she looked at me. "Jasper wanted me to tell you that he is very sorry about what happened. He hopes that you can forgive him someday."

"I already have," I said, softly. "Tell him that I'm sorry, it was my fault."

"Crazy kid," Emmett said, shaking his head at me. "He nearly gets torn to shreds by a few vampires and he only blames himself."

"Not now, Emmett," Rosalie warned him, dragging him off to help Esme clean.

I turned back towards Edward who motioned me towards the door. I followed him outside and let him drive the Beast back home. The new stereo that Emmett had installed sounded good, I would need to thank him again later for it. But that would be later since I turned towards Edward and saw there was no emotion in his eyes. Not even when I put my head against his arms did he respond to my touch like he'd normally would.

The truck pulled into my driveway and I looked down at my torn sleeve. I huffed at it, grabbing a sweater that I had under the seat just in case it got a little chillier then expected. I put it on, making Edward promise to meet me in my room before he disappeared though. He agreed, but it was like he was being forced into it and didn't really want to spend the time with me.

I took my keys and went inside to see that Charlie was snoozing away on the couch. I only shook my head at him, turned the TV off, threw away his empty bottle of beer, and threw the blanket over him so he could at least stay warm. I turned off the lights behind me and made my way up to my room where Edward was already waiting for me.

All my unopened presents were sitting on my bed with Edward hanging off the edge. He held in his hands the present from Rosalie and Alice that I was going to open when this fiasco began. He looked at me as I slowly shrugged off my sweater and dropped it on the floor. "You sure you still want them?" Edward asked, softly. "I know how much you hate gifts."

"With the night I just had, I could use some presents," I said, trying to take the box from him.

"I'll open it this time," he said to me. "I can't even trust you to open the wrapping paper without getting killed."

Man, I really was a magnet for disaster.

Edward slide the box out of its wrapping and popped the pieces of tape with ease. He opened the lid for me so I could the gorgeous, leather coat that was inside the box. I gasped with it as I pulled it out and tried it on for myself. It was all black and looked very vintage rocker and fit me like it was made just for me.

"Alice and Rosalie have very good taste," I said, taking it off and hanging it up in my closet.

He nodded his head and held up an envelope for me to see. I told him yes so he popped it open, giving me what was inside it. I opened the cover to see that it was a pair of first class plane tickets to Jacksonville! "That's from Carlisle and Esme," Edward explained. "They're good for a year so you can go see your mother when you want. They suggest that you go see her for Christmas."

"Oh my God!" I said, happily. "This is just so nice of them. You're coming with me though, right?"

"If you want," he said, sadly. He said no more about the plane tickets and I didn't feel like pushing the subject considering what happened tonight. I held up the last gift, which he told me was from him. I wanted to argue with him about it, but he said he didn't spend a dime on me so I gave in.

Once again, he opened it for me and out came a CD case with the CD inside. I got my old CD player that I'd occasionally use and popped it in there. I turned the volume up all the way so I could listen to it with Edward there as well. What came out from the headphones was the most beautiful melody that I've ever heard, making my heart melt as I listened to it.

"I composed it just for you," he whispered as I crawled against his chest. "This is your song."

"It's beautiful," I said, a tear running down my cheek as I turned it off. I placed the CD player on the nightstand and dropped myself back on Edward's chest, holding onto him for dear life. He touched my stitched up arm, his hand grazing against the blue, veiny scar that James left behind when he nearly killed me. I felt my body shiver for a moment as I looked up to Edward and kissed his icy lips.

Edward's lips remained fridged to my touch, which made me hurt. I couldn't stand it any longer, I need to have him back! "I'm alive," I told him as I sat on his lap. I grabbed his hand and put it over my heart so he could feel it beating. "I'm still alive. I survived tonight with only my arm stitched up."

"That shouldn't have had to happen," Edward said, sadly.

"But it did," I said to him, "and I survived. You can't blame yourself for every bad thing that happens to me. You may look like one, but you are no god, Edward. You can't control everything that can and will happen. What you can do though is remind me of how much you care about me, about how much you love me."

"Rio," he whispered.

"All I want is you, Edward," I told him. I held onto his hand with both of mine as I moved it around freely. He didn't fight my control so I ran his hand all over my chest, I had it touch my neck, and then I had it run down to my waist. "Please…I just need you right now…please."

"Rio…" his voiced sounded weak.

I didn't stop though. I leaned down to him and kissed him fully on the lips. I pushed myself on him, trying to melt the cold that was keeping him from me. I was so desperate, I just needed to know that it was going to be fine. I needed to know that he would still be there for me.

He responded though, holding me by my waist. He pushed us up, gently so that we were sitting up and his hands slowly began to tare away my clothes. My shirt went flying off and soon my pants were forgotten on the floor. I had a harder time taking off the layered suit he wore, so he had to help with that. The coat, shirt, tie, and pants went away in a minute with his help.

I was on my back with him on top of me, still kissing me as he gave into his passion for once. It had been so long since we had been physical together. Prom night was the last time that this happened where I made him hold up his end of the deal. His cold lips sent chills down my spine as he kissed my neck before running his tongue down my chest. My toes curled up with the thrills as his fingers stripped us of that last layer of clothing.

With our bodies completely exposed to each other, I gave myself up to him completely. I pressed my skinny body against the lean muscles on his chest, my warmth against his cold. His hands were on my back and he lifted me up as his tongue wormed it ways into my mouth. My arms were locked around his shoulders as I pressed myself closer against him, begging for him to complete me.

The nerves in my body were running haywire with every touch. I collapsed onto the mattress with my legs wound around his waist, my moans begging him to just take me already. He didn't leave me waiting for long. Soon, his hardness pushed its way inside of me, making me quiver into my pillow. It had been a long time since we've done this, but I adjusted quickly enough to the pressure and soon he was thrusting inside of me like an old-pro.

He pushed deeper inside of me, touching my prostate a few times in the process. With every thrust, I was left blind as stars flooded my vision. I quivered underneath him and clung onto his body to keep myself in this reality. It took every bit of restraint I had not to moan too loud for fear of waking up Charlie. But he just kept going inside of me until I finally came, reaching a blissful state as my body began to shut down.

Edward removed himself from my insides and collapsed beside me. He looked as glorious as ever, possibly better now that he was naked with my sweat running down his skin. I ran my hand down his body and looked at his chest that was toned perfectly, down to his flat stomach with a six pack over it, and went down to his penis that was softening as I grazed against it with my fingertips.

"You should go to sleep," he whispered to me.

"Will you stay?" I asked.

"Yes," he whispered with a kiss.

The kiss didn't feel right though. Now that the bliss was evaporated into my memories, the trigged another one of my memories. I remembered the kiss from when I was going into hiding when James was chasing me down. This was the same kiss that Edward gave me, not knowing if I was going to outrun James or not.

This was the kiss of death and I knew that something horrible was about to happen to me.

* * *

**The End:**

When I woke up that morning, I felt worse than I ever had before. My body felt a little sore from the sex and a normal person would feel great, but I only felt like shit because I knew something was wrong. I looked over to the empty space on my bed where Edward was when I went to sleep. Normally that wouldn't bother me since he always does that, today was a different story though.

I knew that my world was going to come crumbling down soon.

Why was I being so pessimistic about all of this? Couldn't I just be a little paranoid and possibly reading into everything into more detail then what was there? Edward was probably just scared shitless because of what happened last night. Hell, I was terrified about it. His family would've torn me to shreds had Carlisle not been strong enough to maintain order amongst them. It was hard to imagine that a stupid paper cut did all that damage.

But I had to push all that worry aside for a little bit at least. I needed to make it through the day like nothing had happened, while hoping I can manage to get through to Edward. I'm happy that I had this week off from work so that gave me plenty of time to talk to him.

I hurried up and got ready for the day, running towards the Beast as I drove off to school. The ride was slow since I couldn't suppress all of the thoughts I had of what could happen. I was so scared about things between me and Edward that I hadn't even realized I was already sitting in class until the bell rang to dismiss us.

So I had no clue what happened in class, but I didn't give a damn at the moment. All I cared about was getting through to Edward who wasn't making things any easier on me. Everytime I'd get anywhere close to him, Edward would disappear before I could catch him. Even at lunch, he avoided me an Alice was nowhere to be seen either. It was positively frustrating for me and I was ready to shoot someone if I couldn't have a damn conversation with my boyfriend.

And that's how I spent the next couple of days, chasing after Edward and blowing up his phone until I got some kind of contact with him. He refused to budge though and tell me anything that was going on in his mind, which frustrated me to no ends. I just wanted to know that we were going to make it, I needed to know something at least. I needed to know what was going to happen between us.

You think he could've at least gave me some kind of sign?

Or maybe this was just his way of telling me that it was done.

No Rio…don't give up already. Don't be that pathetic type of person who only sees the shadows and not anything good. I can't fall apart like some helpless damsel in distress. I need to stay strong, I need to keep on going.

At least that's what I kept on telling myself to keep me somewhat motivated. It didn't seem to help much though as I blurred through most of my days, trying to reach out to Edward. He finally began to humor me some and started to hang around me like it was the least he could do. He wouldn't talk much, which pissed me off since I needed some answers for my questions.

Edward wouldn't budge though, which only drove me further into insanity.

I tried every lame attempt that I could think of to reach out to him. I didn't say a word about him turning me and did all the human things that he wanted me to so desperately do. I even went passed the invisible line and gave Jessica my camera so she could take a million pictures of everyone for my scrapbook. I participated in the insanity, I did everything I could that I knew he would want me to do, but all I got was NOTHING!

That's why I was violently putting together my scrapbook, while cursing Edward's name up and down the walls. Nobody was there to listen to me though. All the company I had was just the inanimate objects in my room, which did nothing to help. I just closed the scrapbook shut and threw myself on the bed when I felt my phone going off. I picked it up to see I had a text from Edward that said we needed to talk and that he was outside.

Without hesitating, I jumped up from my bed and ran outside. I had enough common sense to put on my shoes and grab a sweater before that. I made it outside, seeing Edward standing in the middle of my lawn with his phone in hand. He was dressed so formally in a dark suit that made him look so hunky that I wanted to swoon if I wasn't so pissed off at him. That's right, Rio, focus on that rage!

"You and I seriously need to talk!" I began to shout. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why have you been avoiding me the last couple of days?"

"Not here," Edward said, simply. "Let's go to the woods to talk, please?"

"Fine," I said, bitterly as I followed him to the trees.

Edward didn't take me too far into the woods. I could see the house perfectly fine as he jumped to stand on top of a fallen tree. Its broken remains felt slightly symbolic as I kept my distance from him, keeping myself from lashing out at him like a screaming banshee. I kept my arms crossed and waited for what he had to say.

There was no expression on his face for me to read to anticipate what his response might be. I had to guess as he stood there like a statue, looking up to the obscured sky that was blocked out by the millions of leaves.

"We're leaving," he finally told me. "We're leaving Forks…today."

"Oh," I said, lost for a minute. I shook my head though and began to smile my way through it. That was no big deal, they were just ready to pack up and move. "I'll pack my stuff right now and meet you there. Just give me about thirty minutes."

"No," Edward said, firmly. "You're staying here, it's only my family that's leaving. There are too many questions coming up. Carlisle can't fake his age any longer and keep getting away with it. It's time for us to go."

"I see." That was depressing, but maybe that was not such a big deal. I shrugged it off as I started to walk closer to Edward, trying to reach out for some shred of hope. "When are you coming back for me then? You just waiting until I graduate that way no one would be suspicious of us?"

"I'm not coming back for you, Rio."

With those words, I felt my heart just shatter into a million pieces in my chest. I could feel it descending into my stomach where the acid boiled it away into nothing. "What do you mean you're not coming back!" I shouted. "You can't just leave me! Not after everything we've been through! Not after you promised me at the hospital that you'd be with me until I said so!"

Edward only closed his eyes as he kept his distance from me. He looked away from me as I broke down in tears, trying to find a way to stop him. "Times have changed," he told me. "That was before I knew how much of a danger it was for you to just be around my family. It wasn't some crazed tracker that wanted your blood, it was Jasper who wanted you. I nearly had your torn to shreds by my family for my own stupidity! Rio, I can't keep putting your life in danger like this! It's not fair to you, you deserve better than I can give you."

"But I want you!" I told him. "Edward, I need you."

"You're young," he said, simply. "I know that it feels like the end of the world, but you'll bounce back and meet someone who is healthy for you." I refused to let him go and I jumped at him from the log. He wrapped his arms around me as I cried against him, begging him to stay with me. "I can't. I can promise you this though, the hurt will leave because I'll make it as if I never existed. You'll forget about me, someday."

"No," I cried, soon feeling nothing but air.

I opened my eyes to see Edward disappearing into the woods. He was slowly escaping my sight and I could just hear his words in my head. I didn't want to forget about him, I didn't want to lose him! I didn't want to give up.

So I started to chase him through the woods. I ran as fast as my legs could take me and managed not to trip on anything. I kept screaming his name as loud as I could, running deeper and deeper into the woods. I kept screaming until my voice was hoarse and I collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. My skin felt all sticky and stuff from my sweat, but I kept trying to call Edward's name, I was determined to stop him from leaving.

Too late though, he was long gone, I failed.

With my knees on the dirt, I just stayed there as I drifted off into the oblivion of my thoughts. I could hear someone screaming for my name, but since it wasn't Edward's voice, I didn't care. I knew I was dying as I submerged myself into my own misery and woe. He was gone now, there was no trace of him anywhere.

Time ceased to matter to me, not even the rain could make me move. I continued to kneel as I felt the rain coming down, touching my lifeless form as night quickly came. The sound of the rain crashing against the trees was the only comfort I had, while tears began to run down my face. I caved in at that point, giving into my depression wave after wave.

Not even the chorus of voices that were screaming my name could snap me out of it. I thought it was all just a hallucination and that I'd soon wake up in my bed. It was all just a joke. Edward wasn't gone. Nobody was gone, I was just going crazy. This was all just a cruel prank that had gone too far.

It wasn't though…this was my world.

As the rain began to let up, I heard rustling in the trees behind me. I thought it would be Edward, but I was wrong as I saw something beastly coming out. There was no fear in my heart as I looked into its eyes. The beast looked back at me before disappearing and I returned to sea of my depression. I just kept sinking as deep as I could go until I finally heard a voice calling my name beside me.

"Rio," the voice said, firmly, "are you hurt?"

I looked up to see this Hulk of a man standing above me. His dark hair was chopped short, his face had the perfect chiseled features, he body was built like a football player, and his skin looked so smooth as I felt warmth radiating off of him. I didn't bother answering the stranger who knew me as he lifted me up into his arms.

I ignored the man's existence even as he carried me out from the woods. I didn't care about him, I didn't care even if he was taking me away to rape me then chop me up into pieces. I'd rather be dead then to be here. I didn't want to feel this hurt in my chest anymore.

The man carried me out the woods and back to my house where I could see dozens of cars and trucks parked everywhere. I think that was about half the population of Forks, but once more I didn't care. The man took me to the house where I found Charlie running up to me and this strange man.

"Oh, thank God!" Charlie said. "Where did you find him, Sam?"

"He was deep in the woods," said this man, Sam. "None of the men even thought of looking that far."

Charlie took me away from this man, which helped me to get a clear look at him now. In the light, he looked handsome but very intimidating to be around. He frightened me a little, but I could tell that he meant well by the worried look in his eyes as Charlie carried me. Sam was on his guard as he helped Charlie take me into the house.

The other half of Forks was inside the house.

Charlie dropped me on the couch and helped me take off half of my clothes before putting a warm blanket over me. I caught glimpses of the familiar faces that I recognized from across town. Mike and his father were there, including Tyler, the deputy, a few men from the auto shop, and a few other faces that I more or less knew.

One of the familiar men that came up was a doctor at the hospital. I remember going to him to get my cast taken off. I heard him talking about a few things, but to me it sounded like a bunch of mumbles. I just remained a zombie as the doctor examined me, checking out if there was anything physically wrong with me. The only thing I caught was him saying that if anything was wrong with me then it was psychological.

"Rio," Charlie said, kneeling down to me. "What happened? Did Edward do this to you? Your note said you were with him."

"No," my voice said, sounding terribly cracked. "I was stupid…I tried to chase him…I went too deep. He's gone now…gone…"

I just completely spaced out, ignoring everybody in the room. Charlie told everyone to leave now so that he could help, but he questioned the doctor for a moment.

"Where's Carlisle?" asked Charlie.

"He transferred to Los Angeles," the doctor said. "He took his whole family with him and moved down there. It was very sudden. He had no time to explain it."

"Well, he should've made time to explain considering what happened," Charlie growled, bitterly. "Shit though, did you hear what the kids at La Push did? They're throwing bonfires just to celebrate the fact that the Cullens are gone."

"I never knew the hate was that deep," said the doctor. "I still don't understand why they hated them so much."

"Neither do I…"

Charlie let the doctor go and turned back to me. He sat down on the couch beside me as I crumbled apart into nothing. I gave up, I completely gave up as everything inside me shattered apart into nothing.

So I submerged myself and retreated into my shell, retreating into my own Hell.

* * *

**Waking Up:**

October…November…December…January…

"That's enough, Rio!" Charlie shouted from across the kitchen table.

The haze that had blinded me for so long began to fade as I truly looked at my father for the first time in months. It was odd that he wasn't at work at the time. It was almost eight in the morning, he should be at the police station. Did he take the day off? Was he fired? I honestly had no memory of what he was doing here, but there he was.

"Enough what?" I said, softly.

"Of this moping around," Charlie said as he got up from his seat. He took my half-eaten bowl of cereal and dropped it in the sink. "No, on second thought, moping would be better for you. At least then you'd be showing emotion. You're a zombie, a shell of what you used to be." Charlie just sighed as he ran his hand down his face. "I'm sending you to Jacksonville to live with your mother. Hopefully the change of scenery could snap you out of it."

No!

The haze in my heart cleared away as I jumped from my seat. The palms of my hand cracked against the table as I shouted at my father, using my real voice for the first time. "No!" I shouted at him. "You can't send me away. You can't just ship your kid off like that! You can't do that to me."

There was shock present on his face. Charlie and I could barely remember the last time I used so much emotion since the incident. "Being here is toxic for you, Rio," Charlie explained, snapping out of it. "You've spent the last four months avoiding everyone and everything all because of _him_. You spend every night screaming and crying _his _name! It breaks my heart to see you like this, Rio. You're my son and I can't stand to see you so broken."

At least Charlie obeyed our unspoken rule. We could never say the name of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named because that would only destroy what little progress I made. Humph, Charlie wouldn't call it progress, neither would I or any sane person for that matter. Charlie was right about everything though, but I couldn't just leave after all this.

I shook my head, refusing to budge from where I was standing. "I'll try harder," I hissed, weakly. "Please…don't send me back to mom…I need to stay. I can't leave…" I tried to make Charlie believe me, I had to make him believe that I wasn't ready to leave. The tears that ran down my cheeks were proof enough of this.

"Rio," Charlie said, softly.

"I'm going to be late for school," I said, grabbing my keys from the table. "I'll see if I can make plans with Jessica or someone for tonight. Bye dad."

I ran out through the front door and jumped into my truck. I slammed the door behind me, started up the engine, and drove off the property to my school. It took every bit of self-control I had not to completely break apart at this point. Charlie was so right about me. I probably was better off moving back in with Reneé, but I just couldn't go yet.

It had been four months…but I couldn't stop trying.

The ride to school was short and I made it with plenty of time left to spare. I got out with my backpack already in hand and approached the empty halls that I used to dread. Since the incident, my grades had improved remarkably, but my social skills had shrunk down to nothing. I wasn't even sure how I'd begin to talk to Jessica since I had been blowing her and everyone else for so long.

Lucky for me though that Jessica was heading in the same direction I was going.

Without even thinking twice, I reached out to tap Jessica in the shoulder. She looked a little freaked out to see that it was me, but she eventually recovered from that. "Don't scare me like that, Rio!" she shouted. "Ugh. What's up? You need help with your math homework or something?"

There was plenty of bitterness in her voice and I couldn't blame her for it.

"I was wondering if you'd like to hang out tonight," I said, much to my surprise. "I could really use a girl's night…want to see a movie at Port Angeles? My treat."

Jessica's lips curled up as she thought about it for a second. I played the gay card well enough and no straight girl could refuse the gay best friend for long. "Alright, but you'd better pay for it!" she said, firmly. "What movie did you want to see anyways? The romantic comedy or the zombie movie?"

"Zombies," I said without hesitation. "I wanted to check that one out."

"My dad said its pretty horrifying," she told me. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Well, I guess I'll see you at lunch then. Later Rio."

"Later," I said, walking off to class.

The rest of the day seemed to be going by so slowly. I never realized just how people seemed to avoid me now like I was a black widow. Then again, did I really give them any reason not to? Sure when I first moved here, I had to beat people away with a stick. Now, I couldn't get anyone to even say hi to me. Charlie wasn't kidding when he told me that I had become a zombie, but I don't remember being this bad.

Had I really been on such a strong auto-pilot that nobody recognized my existence any longer? I'm amazed that I turned invisible because of it.

Four o'clock eventually came and I left the campus with gusto. I left my backpack in the truck just as Jessica swung around in her car to get me. I jumped in with her, taking off as soon as I got my seatbelt on.

Things started out very awkward between us. The first ten minutes, we just sat there in awkward silence as she navigated around the cold roads. I had changed the radio to a rap station because I couldn't tolerate any real music. The abusive words of the rappers did more for me, suppressing the pain I felt opposed to Britney's mindless lyrics about love and dancing.

"Since when did you like rap?" Jessica asked, breaking the silence.

"I've gotten used to it," I said, softly. I tried to think of a way to pressure Jessica into keeping things going. If I didn't then I'd only be trapped in my depression with only my thoughts to keep me company. "So…how are things between you and Mike?"

"Ugh, nonexistent," she said, bitterly. "That boy can be so dumb sometimes. I don't know why I keep fawning over him. I even went on a date with Eric just to make my jealous, but that terribly backfired."

"Ew," I said, showing my disgust. "That just sounds bad."

"It was," she said, shaking her head.

The rest of the ride was spent with Jessica catching me up to the world of Forks High. I showed my revolution and wonder when the time called for it, while participating when necessary. I was amazed though when we parked by the theater that I had gone all that time without falling into darkness. This was a good idea…it was making me stronger.

I bought out tickets and we went inside to get some seats. I bought out drinks as well, but no food since Jessica wasn't sure if she could deal with eating while watching a zombie movie. I wasn't sure if I could tolerate eating either so we both went without eating anything. The typical horror previews flashed passed the screen until the movie began.

About ten minutes into it and there were no zombies anywhere. All I could see was the main couple of the moving professing their love for each other. I squeezed at my armrest, trying to not to freak from their love. It made me sick to the point where I needed to leave, I faked going to the bathroom to keep Jessica from getting too suspicious.

I waited outside the theater and went back in after ten minutes. Much to my delight, the zombies had shown up and were attacking everyone. I returned to my seat with Jessica telling me that I took too long that everyone was a zombie now. I faked being sad, but I managed to get through the movie anyways.

Only when the movie was almost over did I freak out again. The film's heroine had her boyfriend become a zombie who was now chasing her down a dark field. She would not stop screaming as her zombie boyfriend chased her down. I felt my chest tightening up and I lost the ability to breathe as the zombie got closer to her. He was different than the others though, he hadn't rotted away down to nothing yet. He was still fairly human, which only reminded me of _him _in the process.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I said jumping out of my seat.

I ran out of the theater with half of it empty since many other fled earlier. I made it out of there and gasped for air as I dropped down to my knees. I tried to calm myself down, ignoring the painful feelings that were surfacing. I needed to keep the memories back, I couldn't let the memories take over me. _He _can't destroy me…

"Rio!" Jessica shouted as she walked out of the theater. She walked over towards me with waves of concern wafting off her aura. I tried to ignore her gaze as I hid my face between my legs, still trying to calm myself down. "I told you the movie was terrifying. Are you alright?"

"Better now," I said, slowly getting back up. "You were right. I might not be able to sleep for a month."

Not that I was sleeping anyways.

Jessica only agreed as she suggested we went to get something to eat. I nodded my head and followed her towards the McDonald's down the road from us. It was cold, but not too cold that the streets weren't hospitable for us to walk. We slowly made our way down the road, while retelling the horrifying tales that took place in the movie.

I participated as much as necessary to keep the conversation going. Jessica did most of the work though, but she never seemed to noticed since she was still freaking out about it. She even gave me heads up for another movie that was coming out soon that we could drag Angela along with for. I agreed, promising to fun that movie night too since Jessica wasn't feeling that generous to pay for it.

We kept on walking until I heard something that caught my attention. There was a lot of hollering coming down the road so I turned and saw several bikers by a bar. They were mostly yelling at the girls that strolled by them, not paying any attention to anyone further away like Jessica and myself. That's not what I noticed though. As I heard their obnoxious words, I recognized the voices from a memory I was trying to suppress.

Without even thinking about it, I began to walk down that road. Jessica kept on walking until she finally noticed I was missing. She began to yell at me, following me down the road, which eventually gained the attention of the bikers. I was locked in a trance though, ignoring Jessica as I kept walking towards them.

"Rio, what do you think you're doing!" Jessica shouted.

I ignored her and kept walking closer towards them. I was in too deep already that I couldn't stop myself until I felt something else. "Rio, stop!" The raw, angelic voice shattered through all of the defenses I had put up in my head. I paused in the middle of the road, the bikers still watching me as Jessica stood further away.

"Turn around, Rio," the voice commanded. "Go back to Jessica, now."

The voice sounded so powerful and familiar that it made me melt in the process. For a minute, I thought that _he _ really was there with me. I tested that theory and stepped closer towards the bikers. "Rio, stop!" The voice was as strong as ever, which made me believe that I had completely lost every bit of sanity.

Maybe I did, but maybe…I don't know…I couldn't explain it.

So I followed the voice's command and turned back around. The bikers shrugged my existence off as I returned to Jessica who was fuming mad at me. She punched me in the arm, hurting me, but the euphoric numb cancelled out most of the nerve response.

"You're completely insane!" shouted Jessica. "What if they killed you? How am I supposed to explain that to your dad?"

"Sorry, Jess," I said, weakly. "They just looked familiar."

"Whatever," Jessica said, walking back towards the McDonald's.

I paid for us, but we ate in silence. Actually, the rest of the night was full of silence as Jessica refused to say a single word to me. I felt bad, I truly did, but I didn't care as much as I should have. I just went through the motions as we drove back to Forks.

Jessica parked in the school parking lot to drop me off so I can go back home in the truck.

I thanked her, but she just blew me off as she hauled ass away. That could've gone better, but it was my own fault. I didn't regret it too much though. I heard _his _voice at least. Even if it was only a hallucination brought on by the memories, it was something more that I had that _he _could never take from me.

I made it back home, Charlie tried to question me but I only told him I was out with Jessica. He was in shock and remained quite as I went upstairs to get ready for bed.

This was a start.

* * *

**Cheater:**

The next day, I blew my bangs away from my face as I leaned against the register in the Newton's Olympic Outfitters. I stared mindlessly at the clock that was ticking away across from me, praying that my shift would hurry up and end. The day was too gloomy and miserable for anyone to really want to do anything outdoors related so there were only two customers in the entire store. They were busy talking about hiking stuff so I didn't pay them much attention since I was only register trained.

"You could go if you want, Rio," Mike said, popping out from behind me.

For a second, I jumped out of my skin since he scared the shit out of me. I turned around to elbow him in the ribs. Mike had responded positively to my "revival" as he called it. I wasn't too fond of how he described my situation, but he behaved for the most part and kept his distance.

"Are you sure?" I asked him. "What about the two whole customers who might need me to ring them up?"

"I'll take care of them," he said. "I'm locking up early anyways. The place is just too boring today. Go ahead and go home."

"Alright, but if your parents yell at me then I'm telling them that this was your idea," I said, walking out of my little box.

Mike just huffed at me as he went over to help the customers over by the hiking section. I grabbed my punch card and clocked myself out with it, grabbing all of my things in the process. While I did my usual routine to get the hell out of there, I began to listen Mike explaining the best gear they needed when the conversation shifted to something else.

One of the guys mentioned something about a hiking trip he went on a week ago. He said there was a this massive, bear-like creature that he saw around them. He described it to be more wolf-like then bear, but his buddy just thought he was completely crazy. So did I as Mike returned to talking about some gear they could use to keep their food safe from bears.

I left after that and went back to my Beast, driving off to go back to the house. I mindlessly drove down the road without any real thought crossing my mind. I just couldn't focus at all and ended up pulling over in the middle of the road. I got out and was drowning in the rain as I leaned against the door. I was left drowning in my thoughts as the memory of last night came rushing back.

_His _voice was in my head as clear as day. When I got closer to the bikers, _his _voice broke through the divide in my mental barriers. I don't know how it was possible or why it happened, but when I was in danger…I could hear _him_.

Was it ever possible for me to recover if all I could think about was _him_.

"I'm seriously fucked up in the head," I said as the rain came down my skin.

I broke through my depressing thoughts for a moment to check out where I was. The street sign wasn't too far so I could see that I was on Russell Avenue. I wasn't too far from the house. As I was getting back into the truck though, I noticed something that caught my attention.

My eyes lit up as I saw the most reckless thing I could ever think off. Parked in the middle of a lawn with a for sale sign on it were two motorcycles. I licked the rainwater off my lips as I ran over to the house, recognizing it to belong to Austin Mark's family. I rang the doorbell, not knowing what was even possessing me to do this.

The oath I gave Charlie when I was a kid was about to be broken. Charlie made me swear to never get on a motorcycle so long as I lived. He had seen too many kids splattered on the road, dead or dying then he could count.

The front door opened with a kid stepping out. I recognized him from school, he was no doubt Austin's younger brother. A fresh-faced, blond headed boy looked up to my with much confusion. "Rio Swan?" he asked, unsure of himself.

"Yeah," I said, confident for a change. "How much for the bikes?"

"Take them," the kid said, simply. "My mom just wanted my dad to get rid of them. You can have them for free since they were going to the dump anyways. Do you even know how to fix up a bike?"

"I'll probably take it to Dowling's."

The kid just shook his head as he bent down to grab his shoes. "You'll get ripped off you take it to Dowling's," he told me. "He'll charge you way more to repair them then what they're worth fixed up."

I had to agree with him on that one. John Dowling was known for ripping people off when it came to auto repairs. If your car could take it then you were better off taking it to Port Angeles for a way cheaper price. Or you'd get a friend to take care of it who knew about cars.

And that's when lightning struck my head. I turned back to the Beast, remembering the boy who fixed it up to begin with before I got it. Jacob Black was the one who kept it in great shape while Billy had it and he was even working on fixing up his car. This was just perfect!

"You're right," I told him. "It's a good thing I have a friend in La Push who can take care of the repairs for me."

"That's great," he said, smiling. "I'll help you put them into your truck for you."

"Thanks," I said as we went over to the bikes.

It didn't take too long and the kid was actually fairly strong. We had the bikes in the bed of my truck in like no time flat. I thanked him again before he ran back into his house, waving me off. I had to make the kid promise first not to tell anyone that I came to get them. He promised as he closed the door on me.

I got back in the truck, pulling out my cell phone and dialed the police station. Yes, I had the inspiration to see Jacob, but I had no idea how to get to his place. It took a minute for my call to get through and it was Deputy Steve that picked up my call. He patched me through to Charlie, but not before chatting me up for a minute.

Charlie picked up the phone and I could already feel the concern wafting off him. "What's wrong, Rio?" he asked, full parental mode.

"Can't I call you without there being an emergency?" I said with my teenage brain going on the defensive. "I just need directions to the Blacks' place…I haven't seen Jacob in a long time and I feel like seeing him."

This wasn't a total lie. I did feel the need to see Jacob since I haven't seen him since the message that Billy forced him to deliver to me.

"That's great!" I heard Charlie say cheerfully.

He gave me the directions to their house and told me to have fun. I said goodbye to Charlie so he could get back to working in peace. I hung up the phone and started to drive down the road in the direction that Charlie pointed me to.

It wouldn't take me too long to get there, even with the rain.

I followed the roads until I entered La Push. The place was still fairly familiar to me. There wasn't much out here, but there was enough little shops to keep things interesting. I went down a dirt road until I eventually made it to a small wooden house. The narrow windows and dull red paint made it look like a tiny barn, which I thought to be hilarious. As I got close to their driveway, I noticed Jacob's head peering up from the window.

I was barely getting out of the truck when I saw Jacob running out of the house to greet me. I looked up to him and really had to look up to him since he had grown a million times more since the last time I saw him. I didn't even want to think about how tall he was now, his hair was still lengthy, but his baby fat had practically melted away. He was almost all man now with decent sized muscles and more prominent facial features that made him look a few years older.

"Rio!" Jacob cheered as he ran up to me with a wide grin stretched across his face.

"Hi Jake," I said, smiling. "You really need to stop growing. I'm jealous."

He laughed with his warm smile growing wider. "Six five now!" he said. I noticed his voice had gotten deeper, much huskier then it was the last time I heard from him. Wow, this guy was seriously growing in every way possible. "So what's up, beanpole? Did you need something from my dad because he's not here right now."

Perfect, I practically screamed in my head. I shook my head though as I got closer to Jacob, both of us standing comfortably in the lack of rain. "Nah, I actually needed to see you," I said, trying to smile. "There's something I need your help with. You need to check this out."

I took him to the trunk, showing off the motorcycles in the back. I could already see the gears in his head going wild as he stared out them with much fascination. Not even a second past before he opened jumped in to check out the bikes. The victorious grin said enough to me that I didn't need to do any convincing to get him to go along with this.

"Since you're such an awesome mechanic," I said, "I figured you could help me fix them up. You can't tell Charlie or your dad either! I know they wouldn't approve of this motorcycle thing."

"That would be a world of no," he said, already dragging one of them out of there. "This is going to cost a pretty penny though to fix them up."

"I have the money covered," I said to him. "I'm going to need lessons too so if you know anyone."

"I can teach you to ride," said Jacob. "I'll fix up the bikes and help you pay so long as you let me have one!"

That was just too generous that it didn't sit well with me. I shook my head as he got the other big out from the truck. I walked up to it and helped him well it to the garage behind the house. "No Jake, you're going to do plenty just fixing them and teaching me," I told him. "You let me cover the funds for this. I have the cash to take care of this. I would feel like I'm just using you for your automotive expertness if I didn't at least pay for all the parts."

"Alright, we have a deal then!" Jacob smiled at me.

We made it inside the garage where I saw another car sitting in the back of it. He told me that was the famous Volkswagen Rabbit that he had been working on. A classic 1986 Rabbit was raised on top of four cinder blocks.

It was a nice ride, no doubt way nicer whenever he completely finished it.

So I finished explaining a few more details of my master plan, filling in all the curious gaps that Jacob had. He was totally sold on the idea from the mere mention of riding the bikes once they were done. This act of teenage rebellion was something he had been dying for apparently so he was more then willing to go down this slippery slope with me. I felt a little bad though dragging him down with me though.

"Are you even old enough to ride a bike, Jake?" I asked, sitting on a oil-stained stool.

"I just turned sixteen," he said, winking at me. "You barely beat me by a year."

I could only laugh at Jacob, thinking in my head how I just found a god to help me in my time of need.


	7. New Moon II

Author's Note: Haha, here is a super lengthy update for all you good little boys and girls. I hope you guys love it because I worked hard. I'm totally exhausted. Haha. Read and review.

**Friends:**

I watched Jacob, mindlessly, as he worked through the set of bikes. As he worked, he would mindlessly ramble off about something that would be added to the list of things needed for the repairs. I couldn't understand half of the things he was saying since I was automotive illiterate, but that didn't stop me from pretending at least. I would just nod my head, while Jacob continued to mutter on about what we needed.

Jacob kept going on and on about everything, still trying to get me to change my mind and let him help me pay. I stood my ground on that one and reminded him that he was doing more than his share by fixing the bikes then teaching me to ride one. Besides, there was a hefty college fund in the bank that I had access to that was begging for me to spend it. Not like I'm going away to the Ivy League. I'll probably be going to Forks Community College anyways.

Biting down on his lip, Jacob sprang up to his feet like a predator, leaning against a forgotten chair like a Calvin Klein model. I knew this wasn't his intentional pose, but it was a little funny and brightened up my dreary life up a little. "Alright, so I'm done surveying the damage," he said, carefully choosing his words. "It's going to take a couple of weeks, which is less than what I was expecting, but here's the bad news. The bad news is that its going to at least cost five hundred for parts, if not up to eight."

"That's no big deal," I said straightening myself up on my stool. "I have the cash. I can get you six on Monday."

"Damn, moneybags," said Jacob, "I thought you were broke like me."

"It pays to have a job and a savings account, Jacob," I said, laughing at him. "Here's the bigger thing though. You sure you have the time to spare from your busy schedule to squeeze in working on the bikes? I'm sure they'll swallow up a lot of time and I wouldn't want you to just drop your life for me."

"Well, if you're funding things then it shouldn't be too much trouble," he said, shooting me a winning grin. He walked away from his chair and leaned towards me on my stool. The closeness made me feel a little uncomfortable since the last time was with _him_. "But we're going to need plenty of distractions to keep Billy and Charlie off our backs. We really wouldn't want them to find out what we're doing."

"Billy's not that fond of bikes either?" I asked.

"Hell no," Jacob said, pulling himself away a little. The distance helped me to calm my nerves down a little. Plus, Jacob's natural musk was a little too intoxicating for to handle at once. That wasn't there when I was dancing with him at the prom. "Billy would rat us out to Charlie in a heartbeat. So we're going to need to keep them hidden as much as possible, which shouldn't be too hard since he never comes out here."

I nodded my worried head, already trying to formulate a plan to keep things hidden. That would be a little tricky for me since I haven't been in the Black's barn/garage since I was little. In fact, the last time I was in here, I think I got a cut on the back of my leg when I was playing around in here with Jake.

Jacob had his back turned to me as he walked back to the bikes, surveying them once more. "The only thing we'll have to worry about is really any unexpected company," he said. "That shouldn't be too much of a problem though. Not many people come out here."

"JACOB!"

"Yo Jakey!"

Jacob turned back around, spinning so fast that he tripped. I yelped as his big body came flying over towards me, knocking the stool from underneath me. I quickly grabbed onto one of the support beams, while Jacob grabbed onto my legs to prevent himself from breaking his neck on the fallen stool. It took only a second for me to notice that Jacob's face was only an inch away from my crotch. Jacob, on the other hand, failed to notice this certain, awkward position we were in.

I think the whole "life flashing before my eyes" applies to him this time.

There was coughing by the entrance to the shed, leading us both to slowly turn around to see who was there. I saw two boys standing there with very large grins on their faces. One was about average height (still taller than me) and was kinda brawny, but not as much as Jacob was, only slightly paler then him and with shorter hair. The other was tall and slender with long, black hair and russet colored skin like Jake.

Both of them were dressed very chill in a t-shirt and lengthy-cargo shorts.

It was the smiles that made me the most nervous though as they stared us both down.

"Well Jakey boy," laughed the tall one, "that's quite the position you're in."

"Yeah, buddy," laughed the brawny one, "I never knew you swung that way. At least he looks kinda like a girl."

Jacob finally noticed the position we were in and jumped back onto his feet. I sighed with relief since he was heavy and I could barely hold onto the beam for another minute. My skinny biceps already felt like they went through a P90X burn as I straightened myself back onto my feet.

"It's not like that," said Jacob. "You scared the shit out of me and I tripped and kinda fell on Rio."

I just shook my head at Jacob's terrible explanation to these boys. This was not going to end well and I could see that these boys would not stop laughing at us. We might as well go along with the joke to get them to shut up. "Don't hide it, Tiger," I said, wrapping my arm around his. "You know it would've gotten a lot more graphic if your friends didn't show up when they did."

The tall one could not stop laughing, while the brawny one just turned around. I looked up to see the damage I did to Jacob. His face was completely red from embarrassment, which made me laugh too as I let go of his arm.

"Glad we got that awkwardness out of the way," I said, turning to the boys. "I'm Rio Swan, I'm a childhood friend of Jake's."

"Oh!" the brawny one said, turning back. "You're the famous Rio."

"Famous?" I said, turning back to Jacob, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah," said the tall one. "Jakey talks about you a lot. I think he might really like you. He may have had ulterior motives when he faked his accident."

"Shut it, Embry!" said Jacob. He sighed as he jumped in front of his friends, putting up a mini barrier between them and me. "Just try to ignore everything they say and please don't take any offense to it. The tall, funny guy over there is Embry Call. The other one is Quil Ateara."

"The other one?" Quil said, taking offense.

"We can introduce ourselves, Jakey!" growled Embry.

"Seriously, stop calling me Jakey, Embry, before I kick your ass," said Jacob.

"Like you could take me on!"

And that's how it started, a mini rumble broke out between Embry and Jacob. I could only roll my eyes at the boys as I reclaimed my stool, getting myself away from the carnage. Jacob had Embry trapped in a headlock, but the other boy used his skinny body to weasel his way out. That led to Jacob having to chase him out of the garage.

Quil showed up beside me, not much to my surprise. He was laughing though as Jacob tackled Embry down, which made me flinch as I shared a sympathy pain for Embry. I wouldn't want to be tackled down by somebody as massive as Jacob.

"Does this happen often?" I asked Quil.

"Only like every other day," he said, mocking Embry as Jacob threw him over his shoulder. "I think Jacob is a little sensitive about it because you're here. Embry wasn't lying when he said that Jacob talks about you a lot. Well, he never mentioned you until you moved back to Forks then it was all about Rio."

"Oh," I said, my face suddenly felt hot. "That's…umm."

Quil gulped as he broke away from my side, taking a few steps back. "Shit, sorry!" he said to me. "I'm guessing you don't feel the same about him. Um…let's just pretend like this conversation never happened. Shit!"

"What did you break now?" Jacob said as he returned, dropping Embry off his shoulder.

"Nothing!" Quil said, running over to him. "Just checking out the merchandise behind Rio. What do you plan on doing with the bikes?"

"I'm fixing them up for Rio," said Jacob. "Don't tell anyone!"

"Cool!" Embry said, immediately running passed me. "These will be a beauty when you finish with them, Jacob. Hey, what about you Rabbit? You ever going to finish that dang car? Or you gonna be too busy having stool sex with Rio?"

I blushed even more as I got up from the stool. I reclaimed my sweater, which I left on top of a toolbox and took that as my cue to go. "Umm…I'll see you tomorrow, Jake," I said, trying not to show off my red face. "I have homework to finish up and Charlie should be getting home soon. Bye Quil. Bye Embry."

"Bye Rio," shouted Embry and Quil.

"Bye Rio," Jacob said, following my gaze.

I waved Jacob off before running out of there.

As I ran though, I heard Jacob yelling at Embry, which was followed by something heavy flying across the garage. I heard Embry call Jacob a psycho, which no doubt led to another rumble. I'm guessing Quil got involved too because Jacob started to yell at them both. Something about coming on his land again that I didn't quite catch because I was already in the truck.

It took me no time at all to make it back to the house and get dinner ready before Charlie showed up. I kept it simple and just made some monster subs that would leave us full for hours. I gave Charlie his mega-monstrous sub packed full with meat and cheeses and few veggies. Mine had more veggies, extra cheese, and a handful of meat. We ate mostly in silence, but in between bites Charlie would ask how my day went with Jacob.

I kept it to the bare minimum with Charlie as I mentioned Jacob's wacko friends and their perverted minds. Charlie just warned me to not be afraid to kick them in the groin if their perverse minds got a little too touchy-touchy. I laughed as I cleared the table, washed the dishes, and ran upstairs to take my shower.

With the hot water running down my skin, I was slowly beginning to feel better. I didn't feel so much like a zombie, but I knew that I wasn't quite human yet. I was on the balance beam between existence and nonexistence. I was fighting to keep my balance, but at the end of my balance beam I could see Jacob waiting for me. I knew for sure that Jacob was the key to healing me, but it made me feel bad to just be using him in this way.

Especially since he seemed to like me a little more than a friend…

I cut off the water and slid down to my knees. I gave out a heavy sigh as I found myself thinking about Jacob and _him_. This was just going to be a nightmare for me as I tried to keep myself from drowning in this river of self-destruction. I was begging for a massive breakdown that would come to destroy me, permanently this time.

Sighing, I got out of the shower and dried myself off before going into my room. I dropped my towel on the floor then grabbed a pair of underwear from my dresser. I crawled into my warm bed, throwing a million blankets over myself, and closed my eyes shut as I braced myself for another night of screaming. This had become a nightly routine for me since _he _left. I knew what was coming…I was ready.

But the nightmare never came, I never screamed, and I didn't wake up with tear stains.

For the first time in months, I actually slept through the night without any trouble.

I threw the covers off and grabbed my phone to be certain of this. The sunlight that was streaming through my closed window wasn't enough proof for me. Surprisingly though, I actually did survive the night. My phone said that it was Sunday morning…I made it.

Relieved by this, I felt invigorated enough to hurry up just so I could see Jacob. I knew he probably didn't think I was serious, considering how quickly I left him, but I did want to see him. To be more precise, I needed to see Jacob. He was the only thing that kept the pain at bay long enough for me to survive my Hell on Earth.

So I quickly put on some clothes and nearly ran out of the house before seeing that it was still raining. I barely stepped a foot outside before getting drenched. I walked back inside, grabbing my discarded umbrella then went back outside to drive to La Push.

When I arrived to the Black household, I caught sight of Jacob's head popping up like an adorable puppy dog. That sight made my heart beat a little faster, but I quickly squashed that bit of emotion before I got heart. As soon as I parked though, Jacob was already running outside with an umbrella, running towards my door.

"You kept your promise," Jacob said, smiling at me.

"Of course," I said, smiling back at him. "You really thought Embry could scare me away? Quil already informed me that he was harmless."

"He's practically nudered," laughed Jacob. "So, you ready to go parts shopping? There's a few things we can probably find at the junkyard that we can start with before heading to the bigger shops."

"Lucky for us then that I brought my checkbook with me," I said, holding up a blue booklet. "Get in the Beast, Jake."

"Yes sir," he said, saluting me as I got back inside.

He ran to the passenger side and we took off for a junkyard. Thankfully, the rain died out completely so we were able to look around without any major discomfort. Plus, it was still cool enough where the humidity was nonexistence, which I thought was great since I hated the stuff now. Dare I say it, but I'm actually getting used to the cold and dreary, only because I was equally as cold and dreary, possibly.

It was amazing all the things we found though. Jacob did manage to find a good chunk of the parts that we needed for the bikes which was great. That meant more money in the bank. While we were hunting around though, I found a few things that left me scarred for life. I saw the biggest dildo ever and a bunch of chains that were made to be worn. I didn't even want to think why those were here or even who had the crazy sexual fetishes.

I quickly ran Jacob out the junkyard, not wanting to be there for a minute long.

He drove us to the auto shops where we got the rest of the parts that we needed. We only had to jump around from three shops to get everything that we needed and Jacob managed to get a part that he needed for the Rabbit pretty cheap. I bought that part for him as a late birthday present, which he accepted only because I was so "convincing".

Three hundred and fifty nine dollars later, we went back to Jacob's house to get to work on the bikes. I parked the Beast next to the garage to make it easier for us to shuttle our collection of parts in and out. Jacob quickly got to work with the look on his face that screamed a man on a mission. In between the hammering, wrenching, and all that other technically junk that I didn't know, Jacob and I caught up about everything.

Jacob did most of the talking though since I wasn't quite ready to speak about the pain. He kept his cool and patience with me as he kept on jabbering away about everything. "You know, I was there the night Sam found you," Jacob finally told me. I felt myself freeze on the stool as I looked up at Jake. "I've never seen anyone so broken before in my life. Not even when mom died, dad kept it together just for us, but I could see that it was killing him."

"I don't remember seeing you," I said, looking down to the bottle of water in my hands. "Then again, I barely remember seeing anyone. I wouldn't even know who that guy was even if you pointed him out to me on the streets."

"Sam Uley," Jacob corrected, sounding oddly fierce about it. "You'll know when you see him. Trust me."

That part of the conversation died out as a new one began. It all started with me saying how I was older now so I didn't have time for Embry's childish behaviors. Jacob only laughed, disagreeing with my claim for age. The next hour was spent with us adding up and subtracting our age due to our skill factors.

There were many things to be calculated and I was pretty sure that Jacob was using a biased system. His skills and talents always weighed more than mine, despite mine having to do more with intellect then physical labor. I fought for an extra two years for being able to understand Calculus, which Jacob only gave up because he wasn't that good in math.

By the end of the hour, I was twenty-one and Jacob was forty.

"You're just stacking everything up in your favor!" I shouted, kicking his foot.

"Hey, not my fault that someone doesn't know how to change a flat tire," he said, pointing a wrench at me. "You could stand to be a little more butch, Rio. The helpless damsel in distress thing is dead."

"By should I give that one up since I'm so adorable and I could just get a big, strong man to do all the work for me?"

"Like Quil?" Jacob said, raising an eyebrow. "He's seems to like ya."

I chuckled for a moment before snapping out of it. I spun around on my stool, which wasn't supposed to spin around on its own like that. "Well, Quil is pretty beefcake worthy," I said, sarcastically, while licking my lips. "I wouldn't mind tapping that. You should give me his number. Maybe between the four of us, we could arrange something."

"Oh yes," Jacob said, screwing in another bolt. "I could totally see that one happening."

We shared a laugh together. I could feel Jacob's husky, deep voice penetrating through all the walls I put up. His voice just slowly reaching out to be me, which frightened me as I strengthened the wall and closed my mind. I looked at Jacob, seeing a worried look as he quickly ran to throw covers over the bikes and the parts.

I noticed him looking out a window and saw Charlie's cruiser here. I immediately began to panic when I saw my dad coming out with Billy rolling over to him. I helped Jacob hide our evidence before we quickly ran outside to confront our dads.

Apparently, Billy invited Charlie over for dinner. I, of course, was automatically invited. The Clearwaters were also coming over for dinner, which consisted of spaghetti and French bread. It also included Billy's secret ingredient that was passed down from generations, which Jacob ratted him out on.

"Ragu hasn't been around for that long, pops," Jacob said as he walked into the house to pick up a table.

Only an hour later and the place was packed. Harry Clearwater was a familiar face, but I also met his wife and children. Sue was sweet woman who just had this motherly glow around her that made me miss Reneé. Their daughter, Leah, was a young beauty with long, black hair a temper that would leave the boys shaking in their boots. She spent most of the night chatting on Billy's phone. Her younger brother, Seth, was an adorable ball of mess that followed Jacob around like a little brother. I thought it was adorable as this baby-faced boy with short, spiky hair pestered Jacob with every step that he took.

Jacob didn't mind though, he treated Seth like a patient older brother but there was also the protective fatherly instinct in there that made me think that Jacob would make a great dad someday.

I was left in the middle of all this mess as we sat outside and ate dinner together. I sat with Jacob and Seth, with Seth asking me only like a million and a half questions. The kid didn't stop until Leah kicked him and told him to can it. I wanted to thank her, but the scary look on her face made me keep my lips shut.

The night ended too quickly though and I left with Charlie following behind me.

Then Monday came, crushing the joy I had built up in the weekend.

Before I knew it, I was sitting at the lunch table with my familiar crew. Jessica was with Lauren now, completely ignoring my existence. Angela was chatting it up with Ben, while Mike was engrossed with some conversation that he was having with Connor and Austin. Quickly the peace of the table was changed by something Lauren said without any malicious intent.

"Tyler totally broke off our picnic because of some lousy, giant-bear sighting," Lauren said, shaking her head. "As if a bear could even get that big. I bet he just wanted to watch the game that was on yesterday."

"Probably," Jessica said, in agreement.

"He's actually not the first one to see it," I said, breaking through all the invisible lines around me. "A guy from the store claimed to have seen one too, right Mike?"

Mike picked his head up, looking equally shocked by my voice like everyone else in the table. He nearly stumbled out of his seat, while Lauren dropped her spoon on her tray. "Uh, what?" Mike said, shaking his head. "Oh, right! Yeah. The guy I was trying to sell all the gear too. Yeah, he kept going on and on about that dang bear."

Things quieted down for a little while, but I could still feel the weirdness in the air. However, Mike and Angela seemed to welcome me back into the fold, while Jessica kept her distance with Lauren. I even felt their icy sting when lunch was over and everyone was beginning to clear out the cafeteria.

"Yeah, Rio's back," Lauren said, sarcastically with Jessica laughing.

I sighed as I grabbed my bag just as Angela showed up beside me. She had a smile on her face and I just noticed that she had cut her hair short, almost like...no, not her. "Are you back to being Rio again?" she asked, softly. "I've missed having you around. It just hasn't been the same."

"I know," I said, nodding my head. "But I'm back and here to stay now."

"Good," she said, following me to class. "Don't you find it a little ironic that you're back to normal on your anniversary?"

"Anniversary?"

"It's been a year, Rio," she said. "One whole year since you moved to Forks."

She left it at that as she went off to her classroom, which was right beside mine.

Her words stayed with me though as I looked at the date on my phone.

"One year," I whispered, seeing that it was true with my own two eyes.

* * *

**Repetition:**

I could officially be called a masochist at this point.

I was determined to prove if _his_ existence was even remotely true. I needed to know if even a fragment remained of _them._ Despite what _he _said in the woods, I truly believed that there was something left. But if there was nothing left then I should be able to claim the closure I needed.

That was at least in theory.

Right now, I would be testing the limits of all the barriers that I put up around my mind and heart. I drove the Beast down to the glass house to see if there was even a trace of _them _left in my world. The loss of the voice was possessing me, which urged me to go seek it in order to provoke the angelic voice. It was a greater power that left me mesmerized even more so then the godly voice that spoke through to me in my visions.

The engine died as I pulled out the keys and stepped out into the damp lawn. The glass house stood before me, devoid of any life. Nature was slowly reclaiming her rightful land as the vines and weeds grew to new lengths. That didn't stop me from getting closer though, closer to the glass walls.

Part of me expected to see what remained of _their_ furniture from that fateful night as proof that t_hey w_ere still there. I expected to see the dining room table, the elegant couches, the massive TV plastered to the wall, and even the grand piano that _he w_ould play his music on. I expected to see any of it, even a forgotten scrap of paper.

But there was nothing, nothing at all was left.

"It'll be as if I never existed," I said, repeating _his _last words to me.

I ran at that point. I ran back to the truck, slamming the door behind me, and drove as fast as I could away from the house. The memories, the pain, and all the emotions were beginning to rise up from the depths of my soul to leave me a vegetable. I bit down on it all though, pushing it back as I drove faster away from the glass house. The further I went away, the quicker everything sank back into the confines of my soul.

Why did I test myself so cruelly? Why did I try to shatter what was left of my existence? Why didn't I just go straight to Jacob like I had promised myself?

The warmth was what I needed. I needed to feel Jacob's warm soul against my fragile one. As much as I hurt to say it, I needed to have Jacob hold onto me like there wouldn't be a tomorrow. His strength was what always got me through the day. That was why I always spent every moment of my time with him. Whenever I'm around him, I felt complete…I felt strong again, strong enough to deal with all the heartache.

That was our routine. I spent every minute with Jacob in the garage, watching him fix the bikes, and use him for his strength. Jacob didn't know this though. He just seemed to blissfully unaware of the future pain I would cause him whenever I left. I was just a monster, a broken monster that couldn't do anything right. I could barely stand on my own two feet without falling apart. And here Jacob was, believing that there would be a future for me and him.

I tried to make it clear that it would never happen, but Jacob kept blurring all the lines I had drawn in the sand.

When I got to Jacob's house, I walked freely up to the garage with Billy waving at me from the window. I waved back out of sheer politeness as I wandered away to where Jacob was busy fixing up the bikes. He wasn't kidding when he said he became a man possessed whenever he had a new project. But there was a new development that needed to be attended to before we both got exposed.

"We need to get to work on our homework," I said to Jacob, startling him out of his trance.

"Huh?" Jacob asked, pulling himself away from the bikes.

Despite the bikes being nearly finished, I explained the coming changes to our routine. Charlie had so kindly informed me that the both of us were falling behind on our schoolwork because of all the hanging out we were doing. So to keep him back, I promised to make sure we'd get back on track. I explained the new criteria to Jacob and even set up a homework schedule for the two of us that way we would no longer fall behind, but not completely neglect the bikes.

"Okay," Jacob said without much difficulty. "Hey, Rio…I need to ask you something." I faced him, sitting on my stool as I prepared for the worst. I was half-expecting to hear him profess his love, but it was something else actually, but I only got a look of depression instead as Jacob continued to work on the bikes. "If I wasn't able to fix the bikes, would you still want to be around me?"

"You're my friend, Jake," I said, softly. "I know I wasn't a good friend for a while, but I don't want to go back to being that zombie. I want to be there for my friends. So to answer your question, I would've found someone else to fix the bikes, but I would keep hanging around your garage to drive you crazy. Besides, I think I'm like this close to getting Quil to propose."

I added only that last bit to cheer Jacob up from his solemn mood.

Jacob went back to being his usual, cheerful self as we quite working on the bikes early today.

So the next couple of days were spent catching up on all our missing schoolwork. Jacob had so much work piled up that I thought it would be nearly impossible for him to get caught up. Sure, I had a lot of work, but I didn't ignore the major assignments like he did. There was no kidding when he said he becomes possessed when working on one of his car-related projects.

The guilt immediately got to me so I did everything I could to help Jacob. I ignored more of my homework just to make sure that he got back on track. I helped every way that I could, even writing out half his research paper for him, which I dumbed down so that his teachers would believe it was him. Not that Jacob was dumb, he was actually very smart, especially when properly motivated.

Another week blurred by me and we finally accomplished catching up with all our forgotten homework.

I was actually finishing typing a mini-paper for English when I got a call from Jacob. I rushed to my phone, pushing Charlie out of the way in the process. He spun around and nearly dropped his food, which got me yelled at but I ignored him. So I answered the phone and waited to hear what Jake had to say.

"Ready to go for a ride?" asked Jacob.

The joy rushed up inside my chest as I ran up to my room. I made sure to close the door to block out some of the excitement I was having. "You finished them?" I asked. "Jacob, you're a god!"

"Nah, I'm just awesome like that," he said, laughing into the phone. "Come over to the house so we can get going."

"I'm on my way."

I grabbed a sweater, put on my shoes, and grabbed my keys and wallet. I ran out of there and said goodbye to Charlie, not waiting to hear anything from him. I jumped into the Beast, driving as fast as I could with the truck down to La Push where Jacob would be waiting for me. That sounded a little wrong, but somehow I think that Jacob really thought more about us then there was. Especially from what info I managed to beat out of Quil and Embry pointed to yes.

Like I thought, Jacob was waiting for me in the garage. We exchanged hellos before he quickly got the bikes out of the garage. I gasped at the gorgeous red and black bikes, the red one he promise was going to be mine. That led to a girlish scream as I threw my arms around him, thanking him once more for his awesomeness.

He told me about this private spot that would be perfect for our test run.

Jacob packed the bikes into the trunk since I was physically too much of a wimp to carry them. I sat in the truck with my hands on the steering wheel as I waited for him to finish and get in. He popped in soon enough and gave me the directions for the place. None of which I could remember so he would just point out where I needed to go, which was good enough for me.

On our way to this secluded area, Jacob and I kept talking about random nonsense. We kept on arguing about the age thing with Jacob still having an unfair advantage, but I was catching up due to my ability to cook. I was about to bring up another point when we began to pass by a cliff where four guys were standing on top of. I paid little attention to them until I saw one of them getting pushed off the cliff by two others.

My instincts took over as I slammed down on the breaks. I was already running out of the truck, screaming at Jacob to call 911 when he stopped me. Jacob only pointed to the water where I saw the boy swim back up and cheer with joy. This led to the others to do the same thing, which made me very confused.

"They're cliff diving," said Jacob. "La Push doesn't have a mall so we have to do something to occupy our spare time."

"Cliff diving?" I said, looking at the four figures, all of which were shirtless and wearing shorts despite it being so cold. "They're crazy. Not even I'm insane enough to do that." At least, not yet I'm not. "Who are those idiots anyways?"

Jacob only huffed as he helped me back into the truck. He didn't explain himself until after I started the engine and went back to driving down the road. "They're Sam's gang," said Jacob.

"La Push has a gang?" I said, laughing.

"Well, not so much a gang," said Jacob, "as arrogant, insane hall monitors. They 'keep the peace' as Sam keeps saying to everyone. Dad and the council let them get away with all that shit, which only annoys the hell out of me. I can't stand Sam or his moronic lackeys: Paul and Jared. Both of them hated Sam until recently, but now they follow him around like his dogs."

"I'm sensing a lot of bad blood between you guys," I said, softly. "Did Sam ever try to do anything to you?"

"Not yet, but he's just itching for me to join his gang," said Jacob. "The great-grandson of the last chief, I'm sure that would be a major accomplishment to him." I heard a growl as I continued to follow a turn that he pointed out to me. It worried me a little as I smelt the hostility between the two of them. "No matter what I tell Billy, he just ignores me and says I'll find out when the time's right. I just hate that response and the way that Sam keeps looking at me isn't helping. It's like he expects me to get down on my knees and join him like…like Embry."

I stopped the truck in the middle of the empty field. The mere mention of Embry getting involved with Sam worried me to my bones, not that I had no reason not to trust Sam. "Embry was the one who got pushed, wasn't he?" I asked.

"Probably some type of twisted initiation to prove his manhood," said Jacob. "Embry disappeared on us for like a week. When he came back, he cut off his hair and started hanging around Sam. I'm worried, Rio. It's like Sam has him brainwashed or something."

Brainwashing gangs, now where have I heard that one before. That just sounded like every typical gang that there was out there on the streets. Now I was beginning to get a bad taste on Sam Uley, rescuer or not, this wasn't right.

Jacob though looked honestly frightened as he stood on the empty field. I watched him, carefully sensing all the tension that was riddled throughout his being. Sam was really digging under his skin and that worried me more than anything else.

So I did the only thing I could do…I hugged Jacob.

I wrapped my frail arms around him, pushing myself as close as I could get to him. I felt his arms soon lock around me with a light chuckle escaping his chest. "Don't worry," I whispered to him. "I'll protect you."

"That I'd like to see," Jacob said, continuing to hold onto me.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be necessary.

I didn't want to have to use my magic to fight anyone.

* * *

**Adrenaline:**

The handle felt like it was on fire in my hands as I looked out to the long, rocky path in front of me. Jacob had his warm hands over mine, which made the burn stronger as he explained to me the rules of riding a bike. My mind replayed over and over again all the horrible pictures of dead kids that Charlie would show me in order to persuade me never to ride one of these.

"Where are your breaks?" Jacob asked me.

"Here," I said, pushing down on a pedal.

"Yes, but wrong answer," Jacob said. He reclaimed my hand, squeezing the handle tighter for me to prove a point. "This is the breaks you want to use. The other ones can get you killed if used wrong."

"That's very misleading," I whispered.

Jacob's laugh hummed across my ear, making me shiver a little more. I felt like I was melting in my seat, which made butterflies flutter around inside of me. This familiar feeling needed to die; I couldn't put myself through the pain again. Not when I was so close to breaking the wall to hear _him _again.

"_You're being stupid," _said the angelic voice.

I tensed up as I felt his booming voice across from me. It was as clear as day. It was like back when I went up to the bikers back in Port Angeles. This was dangerous enough to provoke _his_ existence from my mind. It looks like _he _couldn't tare himself away from me completely. There was something still left within me.

Jacob kept reviewing what I needed to be careful with and how to properly ride.

On my first attempt to ride, I fell and the bike landed on top of me.

"_I told you so," _said the voice.

"Rio," Jacob said, pulling the bike up, "you okay?"

"Peachy," I said, getting back up to prove it to Jacob and the voice. "Second time's the charm."

So I tried again to ride the bike like a pro. Of course, that led to many falls and many scrapes appearing all over the layers of clothes I wore. The voice was growling at me with frustration, yelling at me to stop. Jacob kept provoking me to keep going, which only pissed of the angelic voice more.

I pushed myself to keep going despite all the falling I did. It was like riding a bicycle, at least that's how I thought about it. That's what made it easier for me to get back on and keep trying no matter how many times I fell.

But I still wasn't getting any better, especially this time.

For my final attempt for the day, I pushed down on the gas and rode off down the road. However, I was going way too fast for my own liking. The voice kept yelling me to stop now, while Jacob shouted at me to hit the brakes. I listened, but I didn't listen too well.

I slammed down on the foot break, which was a mistake. The bike jerked forward, sending me flying off with my body pushing through the dead wind. Gravity kept the bike at bay that didn't do much for me though. I defied the rules of gravity and kept on floating for what felt like a mile until I finally crashed into the ground for a rough landing. I felt my head bang against a rock, which hurt like hell though, while the motor on Jacob's bike went wild.

Within a minute, Jacob was by my side, holding me to see the damage I did to myself.

"Damn, Rio," he hissed. "You're bleeding like crazy." My vision was a little blurry so I told him to stop moving me for a minute. He laid me back on the ground, which cleared up my vision enough to see him take his shirt off.

The immediate appearance of Jacob's round, perfect muscles left my jaw dropped to the ground as he handed his discarded shirt. I grabbed the shirt, blindly using it to hold the blood back from flooding all over the ground. He was busy getting up on his feet, the muscles on his chest flexing as he moved. "I need to get you to the hospital," Jacob whispered. "That's too much blood for my comfort."

"Just load the bikes into the truck," I told him. "I'll be fine. It's just a scratch."

"You're crazy, Rio," he said, running over for my forgotten bike. He picked it up, this time giving me a view of his impressive back before he wheeled it back to the truck.

As he did this, I was busy cleaning myself up. I removed the shirt to see it was completely covered in blood, which was not good. I couldn't afford to go to the hospital because Charlie would find out. So I did the next best thing, I used my magic to heal myself.

I reached down into the depths of my being, begging for my power to heal myself. As I thought of this, I could already feel like something was happening. There was a slight pressure in my head that I knew had to be a good thing. When I touched my forehead with the back of my hand, I saw no blood coming out and there was no pain at all.

By the time I had finished healing, Jacob returned with a shocked look on his face. For a minute there I thought that he saw my performance. Then I saw the goofy grin that appeared as he dropped down to his knees. "Wow, you're a fast healer," he said, examining my head. "I guess it was a smaller cut then I expected. But…I don't get how you stained my shirt so bad though."

I gave Jacob back his shirt, nervously smiling as I looked up to him. "I'm just special," I said, trying to blow this off. He seemed to agree with me and the talk of it died then.

Jacob gave me a ride back to his truck on his bike. I wasn't allowed to drive the Beast though since Jacob didn't want to tempt The Powers That Be. I gave up the keys and rested my tired head against Jacob's shoulder. Of course, he didn't mind me being right there. He kept it still though; I knew he was resisting the urge to wrap his arm around me because I was resisting the urge to fall for it.

It was something else though that I fell for, something far stronger.

The Beast stopped at the Black house with Jacob slowly getting out. I took the time to look at him, watching him closely as he stood by the doorframe for only a moment. It was then that I blurted out possibly the dumbest thing I could say.

"You're sort of beautiful," I told him.

Jacob only smiled at me as he held his hand out to me. I took it and he helped me slide out of the truck, pulling me out so that we were standing only feet away from the garage. His arms locked around me, making me lose my breath for a second. The familiar closeness made me weak, but I wasn't falling into the pit this time. Jacob held onto me, keeping me floating above water so that I wouldn't drown this time.

"Thank you," Jacob whispered to me.

With his voice powerful enough to seep down into my soul, I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep fighting Jacob.

* * *

**Third Wheel:**

Time flew by after the bike incident with things becoming far more complicated between Jacob and me. It was becoming harder and harder to deny all of the advances Jacob was trying to make with me, pushing to keep him in the strictly friend zone. I knew that Jacob truly cared, but I couldn't open myself up to that kind of hurt again. Not with the wounds left behind from _him _still freshly engraved on my heart.

So I tried not to think about it as I drove to Jacob's place for a homework day. When I got out of the truck, Jacob was already waiting for me on his front porch with his head down. I noticed him kicking at his feet and knew that he was about to do something that I may not respond well too. Sighing the feeling away, I climbed out of the Beast with my backpack full of books in hand.

Jacob waited for me on the porch. I greeted him as usual, while a dorky smile formed on his face as he held up a box full of candy hearts up to me. "It's cheesy, I know," he said, shrugging a little, "and you're probably not up for it, but will you be my Valentine, Rio?"

"Oh, Jake," I said looking down at the box of hearts. Once again, Jacob danced over the line I had drawn in the sand between us. I had completely forgotten it being Valentine's Day, neither one of us it brought the subject up before. "I didn't get you anything. You sure about it, what would Quil think?" What else could I say to him?

Jacob chuckled a little as he placed the box of candy in my hand. His warm hand held mine up, making me blush at him. "Quil's moved on," he said, laughing. "He's given me his full blessing. Will you be my Valentine?"

"Alright," I said, taking the candy from him. I stuffed it into my coat pocket, avoiding to look into Jacob's puppy dog eyes. This really was ridiculous…I shouldn't be doing this. I gave out a soft sigh before getting on the tips of my toes, kissing him on the cheek.

This caused Jacob to blush as he led me into the house.

We spent the rest of the day doing our homework until Jacob pushed the thought of doing something tomorrow night, Friday, into my head. I quickly turned him down and made up an excuse that I was going out with my Forks friends. I began to regret my answer because of the sad look that Jacob had on his face. So being the stupid boy that I was, I invited him to come too, and to bring Quil along too with the promise of plenty of Senior and Junior girls to heal his heart.

I tried to stress to Jacob that this would only be a group thing with a bunch of friends. I couldn't let him think this was a date. I couldn't' let myself think that this would turn out to be a date. A date was the furthest thing that I needed right now. I couldn't afford that type of pain, I wasn't sure if I could deal with the whiplash if things went horribly wrong.

Not long after this, I went back to the house to sleep a soundless sleep.

At least until another vision raked across the mental landscape in my head.

I saw _him_ in the middle of the meadow with Jacob appearing from behind. Their backs were turned to each other as a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. My thoughts lured me close to see that between them was the entrance to another place. I entered only to see myself standing at the cliff with Sam and his gang present. The dream-me ran off the cliff, jumping into the hazardous water that lurked beneath the cliff.

That was enough to pull me out from my sleep.

With a sharp gasp leaving my body, I woke up to find myself in the safety of my room. These twisted, prophetic, symbolic dreams were really beginning to drive me crazy, leaving me with a lot more questions than answers. I didn't even want to think about what this dream could've meant other than me being a complete wackjob who needed to be locked up as badly as Lindsey Lohan.

But I still managed to motivate myself to get out of bed and to school. Finally, when lunch came around, I sat down with Mike to plan a movie adventure. He thought this was going to be the date where he'd finally win my affection, but I stomped that down quickly. Having Jacob was one guy too much, Mike needed to take the hint that I wasn't into him…at all.

So when Mike tried to turn this into a triple date, I quickly put that thought to an end to make it a horror movie gathering of friends on a trip to Port Angeles. That was such a long title that it gave me a head rush just thinking about it. Mike went along with it though, still determined as ever to win me over, but whatever.

Mike invited the entire lunch crew and then some, only Lauren and Jessica rejected the offer with Tyler being dragged down with them.

No biggie though, there was still like ten plus people attending this gathering.

By the end of the school day, the plan I worked hard to make ended horribly. Everyone cancelled on us, which led to my final hope being Angela and Ben. That was until I got a phone call from Ben that led to me finding out that he was taking care of Angela because she caught the vicious stomach flu that was going around. He was also feeling a little sick too and didn't want to risk spreading it to us.

I wished them both well as I hung up the phone, cursing my luck under my breath.

As soon as I got out of the house, I saw the famous Rabbit parked in the driveway with a grinning Jacob leaning against it. My own smile formed as I rushed up to it, looking at the beauty that was parked there. "You finally finished it!" I said, smiling. "She's so beautiful."

"The maiden voyage and she already runs like a charm," Jacob said, victoriously. "So, where are all these friends of yours?"

"Where's Quil?" I asked, noticing the lack of a friend.

Jacob explained that Quil ended up getting stuck with some family thing, and I told Jacob about everyone cancelling. Jacob was convincing me to let us take the Rabbit to Port Angeles instead when I saw Mike's Suburban park on the curb. As soon as Mike got out of the car, I already knew that this was going to be a long night. For a minute, I forgot that Mike was the only one who hadn't cancelled on me.

I already knew that this wasn't going to end well.

After the awkward introductions were made, we all packed into Jacob's car since I did promise him. Mike got stuck in the back with a nearly defeated look on his face. Jacob spent nearly half the ride talking to me before Mike tried to but in only to get quickly shutdown by him. That, unfairly, shut Mike up for the rest of the ride and left me feeling all the more awkward with them both here.

Under normal circumstances, I would've used the radio to prove a distraction. However, since I now hated anything that was truly musical, including my own singing voice, I was stuck in this crummy situation. The raging hormones I felt stirring between Jacob and Mike were an intoxicating mixture of jealousy over me, desire to be with me, and fists flying to win me.

Why the hell was this happening to me? What is wrong with the boys up in Washington?

Hm, maybe it has something to do with my mystical origins.

Anyways, when we finally got to the theater, I had to get Jacob's ticket due to the movie we were going to see was rated R. For once, he was the younger one and I rubbed that in for a minute before going up to get our tickets. Mike didn't bother to question it, actually, he didn't really bother to speak much after the whole car thing. I felt bad about even being here with Mike and Jacob, but…no there was no buts about it. I was a jerk.

The movie was just about to get in when we finally made it. I was forced into sitting between Jacob and Mike, which only led to the sure feeling that something was going to happen. Not even five minutes into the movie, they both had their arms on the arm rests with their palms up and open for invitation. I caught wind of this quickly enough and sat perfectly still in my seat, focusing on the bloodbath that was going on the screen.

They wouldn't give up though, which made this all the more awkward for me.

It wasn't until the slutty chick got ripped apart by the killer that Mike finally caved in. He shifted around, uncomfortably, in his chair as he focused on the movie. So that left only Jacob who was still trying to claim victory over me. No matter how bad a part of me wanted to, I managed to resist the need to fall for Jacob's trap that led to his eventual surrender.

I won the war, but Mike ended up running out of the theater just as the killer struck the nerdy kid. My curiosity led to me following him out of the theater with Jacob behind me. We saw him running into the nearest bathroom and I was positive that I heard the distinct noise of someone throwing up. Jacob went in to check for me since we both knew that I had a weak stomach when it came to these kinds of things.

Blood and death didn't bother me, but a little bit of vomit and I was down for the count, go figure.

Jacob returned with a disgusted grin on his face, which I had no idea how that possible. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and walked me over to the nearest bench. "Your friend's going to be there for a long time," Jacob said, confirming my obvious theory. "You really need to find yourself someone who laughs in the face of blood that makes weaker men vomit."

"You're grossing me out, Jake," I said, shaking my head at him.

Back to my thought process, I was positive that Mike caught the stomach flu since he had been around Austin who contracted it as well a lot. Jacob didn't seem to care that much though as we sat down together. His heavy arm was still draped over my shoulder, weighing me down a little. The first thought that popped into my head was to rest my head on his shoulder, but I resisted the temptation to do so.

Instead, I pulled myself away and got back on my feet. I kept my distance from Jacob in the empty hallway now that both features were playing. There wasn't a soul out here. I didn't think that anyone was manning the concession stands either.

This couldn't work. Things couldn't work between Jacob and me, it wouldn't be fair enough for him. I just wish that he would stop trying to pressure me into this. Just his natural, flirty behavior was becoming too much for me to bare. The glass wall around me was already cracking underneath the pressure, I had to keep it up so that I wouldn't get hurt.

"Rio," Jacob said, calling out to me. He got on his feet and ignored the gap between us as he got closer. The look of concern was present on him, but I avoided looking into his eyes because I knew that I wouldn't last. "Rio, please, hear me out." He grabbed me by my arms, holding me firmly but gently at the same time. It was his comforting strength that I was growing accustomed too. "Rio, I like you. I like you a lot, and I know you feel the same way about me."

"Please, Jacob…" I whispered.

"Let me finish," Jacob said, pressing his forehead against mine. "I know, alright. I know that what _he _did to you left behind plenty of scars. _He _did more harm to you than anyone would've thought possible. I understand that you're in a lot of pain and that you feel like you can't trust yourself with anyone, but I promise that it wouldn't have to be like that with me. You said that you'll protect me from Sam, well, I'll protect you from everything. That's a promise that I'll make to you."

"Jacob, don't," I said, looking down to our shoes. His worn out sneakers and my aged converse looked so well together as I tried to worm myself away. Jacob wasn't giving up though so I was trapped in his grasp like a helpless animal. "It wouldn't work. It could never work between us because…because I'm damaged goods." I could already envision all the new cracks appearing on my glass wall. Soon enough, it would all come tumbling down and there would be nothing to hold back all the pain from resurfacing. "You could never find happiness with someone like me. I'll never be good enough for anyone. I can barely even take care of myself."

"You're wrong, Rio," he whispered to me. "You're so much stronger then you give yourself credit for. But I can wait until you're ready to admit it, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be with you, always."

"That day may never come," I said, sadly.

I felt my stomach twist and turn as Jacob finally released me. His fell down to his side, while I finally got the feeling back in mine. I continued to look away, not wanting to face Jacob at all as I walked away to a cardboard cut-out of a cartoon character. If only life could be as easy as a movie, if only this could be just someone acting and not my reality.

Jacob…

My thoughts were interrupted when I noticed Mike coming out from the restroom. He looked horribly miserable and deathly sick as he struggled to walk over to us. I knew right away that it was the stomach flu and that we needed to get out of here before things got messy.

Jacob, acting like our conversation hadn't happen, went over to the concession stand to snag us an empty popcorn tub. He ran back over to us and gave it to Mike to use so that he wouldn't make a mess in the car. That was actually a smart plan. It sort of reminded me of that barf bag that Reneé would have back during my extreme, motion sickness days.

So we went outside to find the Rabbit and got the heck out of Port Angeles. I told Jacob to go to my house so that I could drive Mike back home in his Suburban. Our ride was silent after that, except for the occasional rush of vomit that came out from the backseat. I cringed with disgust, holding back my own urge to vomit as I stuck my head out into the refreshing air. I have no idea how Jacob managed to tolerate it, but I promise to shampoo and Febreeze his car until the stench was gone.

When we finally made it back to Forks, I drove Mike home and his parents knew right away what was wrong. Mrs. Newton thanked me for getting her son back in one, kind of, piece and told me to be careful in case I caught it too. That thought made me cringe in fear since I was a total mess whenever I caught a stomach virus. I knew that my wimpy immune system wasn't going to do anything to keep me safe from this one, especially since it took down nearly the entire high school.

Jacob was waiting on the curb in the Rabbit to drop me off back at the house. I got back in the front and rested my head against the head rest with a soft sigh escaping my throat. So this was defiantly going to be a night that I wasn't about to forget anytime soon.

"I need to stop going to Port Angeles," I told Jacob. "Everytime I go there, something always has to happen. I'm just going straight to Seattle from now on."

"That's a longer drive," said Jacob. "You sure that someone as young as you could make it."

"I'll survive," I said, glaring at him for a moment.

He only smiled at me though as he drove me back home. I had to look away from him though to avoid a memory of _him_ from surfacing up in the process. I kept my head down to keep myself away, but he touched my neck which triggered an insanely warm sensation to run down my spine.

It was then that I noticed that something was terribly wrong with Jacob.

"You're insanely hot," I told him.

Jacob only gained a wide grin from that as he scooted in closer. "I knew I'd win you over sooner or later," he said.

"No," I said, putting my hand on his forehead. "You're burning up. Jacob, you have a fever. Shit, you must've caught the virus too. You need to get home before your body starts freaking out. Better yet, you should stay here so that Charlie and I can keep an eye on you."

"As tempting as that sounds," Jacob said, calmly, "I think I'd rather go back to my place. Charlie might not appreciate me being there since I'm trying to win you over."

"You're probably right," I said. "Call me as soon as you get home though, okay?"

"Promise," Jacob said, while winking at me. "Now, get out, cutie."

I only rolled my eyes, realizing how difficult Jacob was going to be now that his feelings for me were up for public domain.

When I got inside the house, I heard Jacob's engine roar as he sped down the road. I prayed that he'd make it home in one piece before going upstairs to change. Charlie was already asleep by now so I wasn't about to bother him now.

But when I finally stripped down to my underwear and was getting ready to go to bed, I felt a vicious rumble in my stomach. I knew this wasn't about to pretty since my gag reflex began to go bonkers so I immediately ran to the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet when I felt the rush of vomit escape my insides. The awful taste of acid burned in my throat as I tried to pry my head away from the toilet.

However, the second coming came and made me return to the toilet bowl. My body shook in the process as I struggled to reach up for the handle to send the disgusting mess down the drain. I managed to stop long enough to do so. But once the water was back up, round three was coming out to celebrate.

By then, my pleading cries for mercy woke Charlie up. He was about to speak when I buried my face back into the toilet bowl for the fifth time. Charlie only shook his head and told me to get comfortable since I was going to be there for a long time. That was an obvious fact and I would've made up a witty comeback had round six not started.

Half the night passed and I was still buried in the toilet. I was exhausted with a sore throat from all the vomiting. I crumbled apart on the ground with a hand still on the rim, ready to pry myself back up as I closed my eyes to rest up.

When morning came, I was still as miserable as ever. I spent nearly my entire day just throwing up until the point that there was nothing left inside me. Charlie took mercy on me, leaving me crackers and plenty of water to keep me alive. There wasn't much else that he could do for me, but this was good enough for me to know that he was trying.

But as Sunday came around, I finally managed to recover and find the strength to move about. I also took advantage of my newly found strength to make a call to Jacob since I haven't heard from him since Friday night. There was no doubt in my mind that he probably caught the virus too so that probably explained the lack of a phone call. He was probably too busy hurling himself to death to take the time to pick up the phone. I knew I was.

I wasn't too surprised though when it was Billy who picked up the phone though.

"Hello?" I heard Billy say into the receiver.

"Hey Billy," I said to him. "It's Rio. I was just calling to check up on Jacob. He didn't call me back Friday so I'm assuming he caught the stomach flu too. I just recovered from it so he should be about ready to get better soon too."

"Yeah, it turns out that he doesn't stomach flu, Rio," said Billy. "I'm not sure what it is, but I'm taking him to the hospital today to get it checked out."

"Oh, okay," I said, made sense. "Can I talk to Jacob?"

"Afraid not," said Billy. "He's sleeping right now and he's in a fair amount of pain. He says that his bones are hurting him so think its best that we just let him rest up."

"Alright," I said. "Tell Jacob I hope he feels better soon. Goodbye Billy."

"Take care, Rio. Tell your dad I said hi," said Billy. "Bye."

I hung up my phone and dropped it on my bed, flopping down on it, worried about the ailment that Jacob contracted.

* * *

**The Meadow:**

A long week passed where I wasn't able to make any contact with Jacob at all. Billy gave a story about how Jacob contracted mono, but then the next day said that Jacob was running errands so he was busy. No matter how hard I tried to force Billy into putting Jacob on the damn phone, the old cripple wouldn't budge. Okay, that was a little mean, but Billy was being a dick and it was pissing me off.

Then the news of my pestering him trickled down to Charlie. He told me to leave Billy and Jacob alone until Jacob found himself able to call. He said that all I was doing was just stressing them out more, making it all the more difficult for Jacob to have a speedy recovery. I knew that was a pile of bullshit, but fine, whatever.

School was the only outlet I had for all the turmoil of not being able to talk to Jacob. I'll admit that my social life seemed to approve a little and Mike seemed to get the hint now that we'd never be. I was getting back into good standings with everyone again with the exception of Lauren and Jessica, but fuck them both. I didn't care about any of that, I just needed to know that Jacob was doing alright.

I promised myself to give Jacob a week of silence so that he could recover. I figured that a week would be enough time for him to recover or at least get well enough that he could talk into a phone. That was being reasonable and that would hopefully get Billy to be a little more decent with me.

When the week was up, I called and prayed that it would be Jacob who answered. Much to my dismay, it was once more Billy Black. I silently cursed myself, wanting to punch the wall behind me until my fingers cracked and bled.

"Hello Rio," said Billy.

"Hi Billy," I said, trying to be as polite as possible. "I was wondering if Jacob was better yet and could talk."

"Oh, he actually made a full recovery. Turned out that it wasn't really mono." I could hear Billy's fake laugh, which only stressed the point to me that something was really fishy. My spidey senses were tingling and telling me that Billy Black was full of shit. "He's actually busy right now. He's driving some friends up to Port Angeles to go see a movie. I'll tell him you called though."

"Uh huh," I said, seeing through Billy's lie without any trouble. "Alright. Bye Billy."

I didn't bother to wait for a response as I pushed end. I held back the urge to scream at the top of my lungs as I stormed up the stairs and went into my room. I threw myself on my bed, grabbing a pillow and screamed into it without any mercy. My throat was already killing me since I spent the last couple of nights screaming now that Jacob wasn't around to keep all the nightmares away.

With a soft sigh, I rolled off the bed and landed on the floor by my desk. I stared at the scrapbook that I had on the floor of my desk. The stupid in me went over to it, opening it up to the very first page where _he _was supposed to be. The page was torn clean off though almost so that it looked like it had never been there in the first place.

Many of the things were gone now just like they'd never existed.

Even the cool jacket and stereo that I got were gone as well.

"This is all your fault!" I angrily said as I slammed the scrapbook shut.

Without even thinking about it, I decided that I needed to do something completely drastic. Going to the empty, glass house wasn't big enough for me. I needed to go to our spot, the spot where I learned the truth. That was the one thing that _he _could never take away from me. No matter how powerful _he was_, there was no way that _he _could've desecrated that one for me.

So I grabbed my phone and keys, making my way over to the Beast. I got the engine to come to life then drove down the long road that would take me to the beginning of the journey. The familiar landscape strolled passed me, which got me thinking about _him_ and how just a year ago we were there. I shook that memory away from thought as I reached the end of the line for the Beast.

The rest of the way, I took it on foot.

All I had was my jacket to keep me warm and a cell phone to keep myself tethered to civilization. I didn't care about the warnings that Charlie gave me about not going to the woods on account of the missing persons and the wild animal sightings. None of that bothered me as I journeyed into the depths of the woods on my own.

It took me probably an hour to do things the human way, but I eventually reached my destination. Time didn't matter to me and neither did my exhaustion. I was a man on a mission, a man possessed like Jacob became when he worked on his cars. Only, I became possessed when it came to my own masochism, I needed to suffer to know that this was all real.

I pushed aside the shrubs and took my first steps into the perfect clearing. While everything else was still affected by the cleansing beauty of the snow, this spot remained untouched. Here in the meadows, all was perfect and beautiful. Just like my memory of _them _were, _they _would always remain the perfect creatures that left behind _their _fingerprints on my soul.

At least some things would never change.

But as I made my approach into the meadow, my vision flashed as I saw two figures of light pass before me. The lights took a ghostly form, which I recognized at once as my parents. It recognized them from the wedding photo that Charlie had on the mantle. For a moment, I lost my breath as I saw the two of them smiling, happy, and in love.

"You are a bad man, Mr. Swan," Reneé laughed.

"You're the one who married me, Mrs. Swan," Charlie said, wrapping his arms around her.

The ghosts of the past shared a kiss before they disappeared from sight. I clenched my chest when I saw them again, this time they were covered by a blanket with clothes thrown all over the place. They both appeared to be sleeping, which gave me a thought about just how special this spot was.

"I was…conceived here," I said, speaking in technical terms. "This is the spot where I came to being…"

The shocking thought left my mind boggled as I remembered this spot from all my dreams. The strange, the sexual, and the deadly were all tied to this spot. This is the spot where the glowing being would reach out to me. This is the spot where I felt more connected to who I truly am, more so then anywhere else I've ever had the pleasure of going to.

Under normal circumstances, I probably would've been extremely grossed out to find out that this is the spot where my parents made me. A normal person would've been, but since when have I been normal? I was intrigued, but not willing to dive too deep into this whole "I was conceived in this meadow" thing. This was all that I needed to know, I didn't need to know any of the dirty details about HOW I was made.

Ew!

Back to my main point, this spot was special to me at least. Maybe this spot has more to do with just being the spot where I was made. There might be more to it, maybe this spot had to do more with what I was, the mystical side to me.

It was weird…I wasn't thinking about _him _or Jacob like I thought I would be. I thought I would've shattered to pieces by now, but I was hanging tough for now. Despite what should be, I was beginning to feel more then I was as I felt the connection I felt when I first came here.

I felt like everything was a part of me, the meadow itself was just an extension of my body.

And that's what told me that I wasn't alone.

I slowly turned around to see another figure in the meadow with me. My first thought was that _he _came back for me then I just thought it was another vision toying with my already fragile mind. But both of my theories were very wrong. What I saw turned out to be someone from the old world that I used to live in.

Standing before me was Laurent.

The vampire who tricked us all only a year ago, pretending to be the leader of another coven, returned to Forks. He was from my past and his presence here did its job in shaking me to the core as painful thoughts began to flood back. All of which involved that monster, James, which made the scar that he left behind burn my wrist.

Laurent looked just the same as ever, which made me feel stupid. He was a vampire. Time wasn't going to change him like it would do to a human. A strong vampire like him wasn't as fragile to the rules of nature like I was.

He approached me, slowly and looking a little confused in the process. His eyes were locked on me as he moved across the meadow with his boots crushing the growing flowers and his ragged clothes hanging off him. His hair fell slightly to the side as he tilted his head to me. "Rio?" he said, sounding surprised to see me.

"Hello Laurent," I said, keeping my cool as I saw his hungry, red eyes.

"Well, this is a surprise," Laurent said, happily smiling at me. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. Forgive me, I smelt something delicious and came running. I didn't think it would be you though."

"That's to be expected," I said, calmly.

Laurent nodded his head as he got closer to me. I stood still, trying not to sure any fear to Laurent as he got closer. "Tell me, Rio, are the Cullens still here?" he asked me. The mere mention of _their _name made me flinch, which slowly pushed the lid to Pandora's Box open for me. "I went by their house and it looked completely empty. Did something happen?"

A vision appeared behind Laurent, taking the form of _him._ _He_ stood there as golden and magnificent as ever as _he _finally showed himself to me. "Lie," _he _said, strongly. "Lie! You have to lie to him."

"People were beginning to get suspicious of them," I said, instinctively. "It was the only way to keep suspicions off of Carlisle so they left."

"But they left you behind?" he asked. "Why? Weren't you like their pet or something?"

"Or something," I whispered.

"Lie better, Rio!" shouted _his _voice. "He's thirsty."

I picked my head up, trying to play things cool with a smile. "They pop by from time to time though," I said, laughing. "They couldn't take me with them because that would only raise too many suspicions. My dad's the chief of police after all. It wouldn't look good if they just kidnapped the police chief's son."

"Of course," Laurent said. "Though they could kill them in a matter of seconds, it would raise only too many alarms then there would have to be an intervention."

"Right," I said, familiar with the only vampire rule. "So, how was Alaska? Did you enjoy your stay up there?"

"I did, actually," Laurent said, smiling. "Tanya and her coven are very kind, beautiful women who taught me many things I never thought possible. However, I'm afraid I've been slipping up terribly with the new diet." A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he walked away from me. That relived the coil building up in my chest, but soon enough Laurent appeared beside me in the blink of the eye. "You know, not long after I left Alaska, I ran into an old friend."

His cold fingertips touched my cheek, making me flinch in the process. I wasn't used to their cold skin any longer and his touch almost reminded me of James, before he broke me apart. "Did you know that Victoria wants your head on a platter?" he whispered to me.

The name of the red head made me flinch. I still remember when Laurent gave us a warning about her, saying that she was deadly and shouldn't be underestimated. "Why me?" I asked him. "What does she want with me?"

"James was her mate, and your Edward destroyed him," Laurent hissed. Hearing that named pained my heart, but I had to stand strong. I couldn't let his name destroy me, not now, not here. "Victoria believes that its only fitting that she kills you out of vengeance. It is the only way to honor James's death."

"But she sent me to scout ahead," he said, laughing. "She knew that if she showed herself that the Cullens would destroy her in a heartbeat. She wanted me to see what made you tick and how to get you vulnerable enough for her to strike. But you see, Rio, I've grown accustomed to the Cullens, especially their kindness. I wouldn't want Victoria to lay a hand on you so I will show you mercy."

"How?" I asked.

The ghostly vision appeared behind Laurent, making eye contact with me. "Run!" _he _shouted at me.

"I'll kill you, quickly and painlessly," Laurent whispered. "It will be a mercy killing because what Victoria has in store for you is far worse."

Laurent pulled away from me for a moment. I looked into his hungry eyes, seeing that I would soon be killed in the process. Oddly enough, I wasn't as afraid as when James was doing it. Maybe it was because I knew that Laurent was right. Victoria loved James as I had loved _him_, it only made sense that I should give into this mercy killing and free myself from this mortal coil.

I closed my eyes, embracing my coming death. "I love you…Edward," I whispered, defeated.

"Rio run!" shouted _his _voice once more.

"No!" Another voice rang through my mind, breaking through everything else. I recognized the voice to belong to the white figure that always spoke to me in my time of need. What could he possibly want me to do this time? "Fight him. Stand up to the vampire. Use your light to protect yourself."

I opened my eyes to see Laurent slowly breaking his sharp claws down to me. I knew that he would easily rip my throat out with them and I would be dead in seconds. Suddenly though, death wasn't an option for me. Not that I knew that Victoria was running around and with Jacob now such a big part of my life.

I raised my hand up just as Laurent brought his hand down. His hand was merely an inch away from mine when a bright ray of light took form between us. The light was rushing through my hand and kept Laurent at bay as it caused a painful cry to escape the vampire.

Just like with James, my magic was hurting him.

I pushed Laurent back with the light from my hand, keeping myself alive in the process. Laurent slid across the meadow and kept his distance from me as he looked at me with hunger and fear. "Just what are you?" he roared. He spoke in a way that reminded me so much of James that I made me shake. "You're not human."

"That's what James said before he almost killed me," I told Laurent.

Laurent looked at me carefully, slowly picking himself back up. He brandished his fangs at me and was about to crush me when a sharp growl caught both of our attention. I didn't know where it came from, but I did see the look of utter fear in Laurent's eyes as he looked behind me.

"Not possible," he whispered.

I slowly turned around to see a giant wolf emerging from the woods. His black fur rippled against the wolf that was nearly the size of a horse. My initial response was to scream in terror when I saw four more wolves following behind them. Two wolves were fairly the same size, smaller then the black one: one with dark-silver fur and the other with brown fur. Another one came out that was slim and sleek with gray, black-spotted fur. The last one though was only slightly smaller than the black one, but had deep rusty-brown fur.

These mutant wolves were growly as they looked upon us. The silver one was the first to break through their formation and ran after Laurent. He managed to punch him away though, which led to the brown and gray one to go after him next. The black one wasn't too far behind, which reminded me of something familiar.

I turned to see these four wolves rush to fight against Laurent, neither side looking like it was winning. The last of the wolves though, the rusty-brown one went up to me. My immediate response was to scream in terror until I looked into those big brown eyes and immediately thought of Jacob, that big puppy dog.

I couldn't understand why the wolf's eyes made me think of Jacob though. That was until I really looked at the wolf that rubbed his face against my hand. For a moment, I saw Jacob on his knees with his face rubbing against my hand like a lonely lover. My breath escaped me as I pulled my hand away from the warm wolf.

"Jacob?" I whispered out loud.

The wolf immediately sprang to action, ignoring me now as he joined the others. The wolf rushed after Laurent and turned the tide in favor for them. Laurent looked desperate as he pushed two of them away and took off running at full speed. The wolves were hot on his tail though, chasing after Laurent through the woods.

I was left all alone, witnessing a supernatural battle between wolves and a vampire.

"I'm getting the fuck out of here," I said to no one in particular.

I started to run back to the truck without any hesitation. For once in my life, my feet didn't fail me as I ran through the woods. I was terrified of getting attacked by the wolves and Laurent as I finally reached my truck.

The keys were fumbling around in my hand until I finally got control of my nerves and got the door opened. I started the engine and took off, driving as fast as I could back home with my mind and body still freaking out by what I saw. I sped through the roads until I finally reached my house, seeing Charlie's cruiser was parked in the driveway.

Even though he told me to avoid the woods, I had to tell Charlie the censored version of what happened.

I ran into the house with Charlie freaking out as he saw me. He immediately thought the worst as I leaned against the door, panting for air. "Wolves!" I said to him. "The wild animal that everyone is freaking out about, they're really wolves! Huge wolves that are like the size of bears and there are five of them."

"How do you know this, Rio?" Charlie asked.

"I wondered too close to the woods," I confessed. "They didn't notice me though as they took off."

"I told you to stay away from the woods!" Charlie growled at me. "Ugh…well, at least they didn't go after you. But I want you to stay away from the woods from now on, understood?"

"Don't have to tell me a third time," I said, running up to my room.

I closed the door behind me and kept it locked. I immediately ran to my window, closing the blinds behind me before getting into my bed. It was still really early, but I was too afraid of what could happen to be anywhere else.

My mind only thought about what Laurent said about Victoria wanting to come after me.

She was coming after me to kill me all because of what happened with James.

Now though, I had these mutant wolves to worry about along with trying to find out what was wrong with Jacob.

"And you said things would go back to being normal for me," I said to my wrist, talking to Edward, in spirit.


	8. New Moon III

Author's Note: Out of all my chapters, I think this one is just the largest out of them all. I am super popped out! (Literally) Writing this chapter was exhausting, but I think it was worth it and I'm sure you will all think so too. I know many of you are just dying for some JacobXRio action, well guess what, this chapter has a lot of it! Warning for lots of man on man action, including a lemon towards the end! HEHE! Read and review!

**The Cult:**

That night was a living hell for me; I spent the majority of it expecting Victoria to come after me in a moment's notice. I couldn't explain it, I just felt like she would attack me at anytime, her and possibly Laurent. There wasn't a doubt in my heart that Laurent had found a way to escape the mutant wolves that came from the woods. He was easily able to fight them so why couldn't he possibly a way to escape before they could gang up and kill him.

It was all just so terrifying that I found no peace that night.

Only in the morning did I finally found the strength to fall asleep. My restless mind knew that the vampires wouldn't dare strike in the daylight, which made me feel safer. This meant that I would at least be safe in that case. I wouldn't have to worry about Charlie so much either, except for the occasional reference to the wolves lurking about in the woods.

Not only was my safety on the line, but Charlie was going to have to pay for my past. All because of the romance I had with a vampire, my own father could now be a potential target for these deranged vampires. It made my heart break everytime I thought about it until I finally got up to embrace the mid-day.

The remainder of my Sunday was a miserable mess, spent with trying to get a hold of Jacob. Even with all this chaos, I knew that Jacob could at least bring some comfort to me. So I spent the rest of my day trying to get through to him and get around Billy, but that damn cripple wouldn't let me speak to him. No matter how much I tried to beg, Billy kept Jacob away from me, which pissed me off to no bound.

If I wasn't so certain of the immediate danger I was in, I would've rushed down to La Push and started to raise a little hell. But the risk of dragging Victoria and Laurent down there was just too great for me to risk. I would've run out of Forks had I not been so concerned that Charlie would've tried to follow me. I wouldn't be surprised if he had some type of tracking device embedded into the Beast somewhere that I didn't know about.

When Charlie got home from work that day, I got an earful for constantly harassing Billy and Jacob that passed day. I wouldn't call it harassing, but stupid cop dad wasn't helping out any. Charlie yelled at me to leave them alone, how Billy knew best, and just how I shouldn't be so dependent on Jacob.

If only Charlie could understand what was really going on then maybe this would all be a different story.

But that wasn't the case nor would it ever be. So I had to struggle through my days without any sign of Jacob, alienated from the only one who could keep all the bad thoughts away from me. Now, I was forced to face all of the painful thoughts in my head along with the attack that was all but inevitable. If only I had someone to go to for all of this. Someone to distract me…or even someone I could just talk too.

The remnants of Edward were not with me, the glowing figure wasn't reaching out to me, and Jacob was no longer speaking to me. I was utterly alone in this Sea of Blood. There was no one there to guide me, talk to me, or hold me as I drowned deeper and deeper until there would soon enough be nothing left of me. All I could do was to pray that my coming death would be enough to starve the thirst of the vampires and keep them away from everyone else I knew.

All the constant threats of my impending doom left me paralyzed for a week as I struggled through my daily routine. The only bright side I had was that next week was Spring Break. With any luck, I might be able to lure Victoria and Laurent away from town like we did with James last spring. Maybe I would be enough to satisfy Victoria's desire for revenge; she would hopefully leave everyone else alone.

But all my thoughts were wandering back to Jacob and what was wrong with him. The dream that I woke up to was enough to shake me through all the smoke and mirrors as I thought about what was happening to him. My mind drifted off to the night where Edward left me, I could see someone through the woods, my "rescuer". It was then that I realized that it was Sam Uley who the problem was. I knew it in my heart that Sam had reached my Jacob, corrupting him with whatever darkness was inside of him.

I had no proof though, but I knew a great way to get it.

Breaking Charlie's rule, I called the Blacks' house for the first time in a week. I wasn't surprised to hear that I was Billy who answered it, in fact, he was my key to finding out what was going on. Billy made up a bullshit excuse about Jacob being gone with his friends so I began to dig in deeper, pretending like I knew a little more than usual.

"Is he out with Quil?" I asked him.

"No," Billy said, calmly.

"Ah, what about Embry?"

"Oh yeah!" Billy said, cheerfully. Bingo, thank you. "They just left the house ten minutes ago."

"Alright, tell Jacob to call soon. Bye Billy," I said, hanging up the phone.

I dropped the house phone on the couch and grabbed my keys from the hook. I was dressed to kill with my black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. It was warm enough today where I didn't need a coat so I forgot it on the coat rack as I made my way over to the Beast. Without any hesitation, I drove down to La Push to confront Jacob, personally.

For only a second, I sat in the front of the Beast and thought about what I was about to do. Sure I would be saving Jacob from whatever hold that Sam had on him, but I could be dragging Victoria down to him. This was incredibly selfish and it would possibly get him because of it. But if I did nothing Jacob might be in even greater danger so I lost the guilty conscious and started to drive.

The familiar road was my only guide as I followed the appropriate twist and turns. I made it to La Push in very little time, driving through town as I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of Jacob. If he really was out with Embry then this would be a good place to try and find him. My next stop would be his house and try to beat the sense into his big head.

As I made my way into town though, I caught sight of a rather large boy walking on his own. For a minute I paid no attention to him until I got closer and noticed that he looked very familiar. I nearly slammed on the breaks when I saw that it was Quil, but now at least five inches taller with somewhat larger muscles. What the hell were the Quileutes feeding their boys, experimental growth hormones?

"Quil!" I shouted out of the window I was opening up.

He spun around at me, a weak smile forming on his sorrowful face. I was oddly enough willing to bet that he was having Jacob problems of his own. He dug his hands into his pockets as he made his way over to my truck. "Long time no see, Rio," he said, trying to play it cool. "How have you been?"

"I've been better," I said, softly. "You need a ride?"

Quil nodded his head as I unlocked the door for him. He quickly jumped in, taking about as much space as Jacob did when he'd used to ride with me. I'd say they were about even now, at least from the last time I saw him. "I'm guessing you're looking for Jacob," Quil said, suddenly. I only nodded my head, guilty. "Yeah, I just ran into him like five minutes before you showed up. I saw him with Embry."

"They're on speaking terms now?" I asked. "I'm guessing they're with Sam and not speaking to you anymore, right?"

"So Jacob filled you in on the dirty laundry before he dropped off the face of the earth," Quil said, chuckling a little. "He's been ignoring you too? I figured that you'd be the one person who might know anything about it. Ugh! I just hate Sam Uley, I wish I could just get him away from all his little clones and punch him in the fucking face."

To prove his point, he punched my glove compartment. If I wasn't so certain that my truck was damage proof, I got to prove it for the first time. Quil only shook his hand, apologizing to me for almost damaging the truck, which I assured him was fine.

"I would do the same if I were you," I said, driving up the road. "You want me to drop you off at your house or go with me to beat up Jacob?"

"Drop me off," Quil said, calmer now. "He'll probably run away again if he sees me. You might have better luck if you go on your own."

Quil sadly gave me the directions to his house, which wasn't too far from where Jacob lived. It was only a mile or so before Jacob's place so that made it easy to find. I pulled over to let Quil go, him wishing me luck while I promised to talk some sense into Jacob. We said our goodbyes and I continued my drive to the Black Residence.

That took me about another four or five minutes to get there. I pulled into the rocky driveway, my truck shaking as I finally parked and cut off the engine. From what I got out of Quil, Jacob wasn't home so that meant I was probably going to have to wait a while. I didn't care though, so long as I got to speak with Jacob myself and break through whatever illusion that Sam weaved into his mind.

Billy came rolling out the house and saw me parked in his driveway with a cocky smile on my face. I saluted Billy, which only led to him rolling his eyes at me as he went back inside. That made my smile grew even bigger as I got into a comfortable position, closing my eyes for the eventual encounter.

I think I might have dozed off for about five minutes, but the next thing I knew I heard a loud pounding at my window. My entire body freaked out as I nearly jumped out of my own skin and spun around to see there was somebody there. The initial response was Victoria then my mind calmed down to where I thought it was the cops (Charlie), but much to my surprise it was neither of the above.

It was Jacob, a different looking Jacob Black, but it was Jacob.

His long hair was cut nearly clean off. It was so short that he looked like a completely different person. It wasn't just the hair that changed him though. The expression on his face was darker, there was no smile on his face, his eyes only knew hate as they stared into me. It was then that I truly knew that Sam had taken hold of Jacob, turning him into a completely different person, and that just broke my heart.

"What do you want, Rio?" Jacob hissed from outside my truck.

For a moment, I could speak as I found myself starting at this new Jacob. I gently pushed the door open so I could step outside and felt the colder air as I saw him hardly wear anything. He was shirtless with his muscles far rounder and more developed since the last time I saw him. It felt like he was twice my height now, I was practically facing his abs and the cargo shorts that he wore.

"You and I need to talk," I said, softly. I closed the truck door behind me, noticing four other boys in the distance. I easily picked Sam out of the pack, since he was the tallest of them all. My heart surged with a strong urge to punch him in the face, but I held it all back. I just focused on how identical they all were, like five brothers all with the same haircut, no shirts, and wearing some form of shorts.

I looked away from them, my eyes burning from the contact I made with them. I ended up looking at something far worse though as I looked into the intense scowl on Jacob's face. "Alone," I said, stressing the word to him. Jacob turned his head away from me and I saw that he was looking for Sam's approval, which made my blood boil.

When Sam gave him the nod, Jacob finally showed some response as he started to walk. I followed him closer towards the woods, while the others went into the house. They were all so loud from what I could tell, but I wasn't there for them. I only cared about Jacob, I was only here to save Jacob from Sam.

"So you're just Sam's lapdog now?" I said as Jacob finally turned around to look at me. "He tells you to jump and you ask how high?" I stomped over towards him just feeling so angry at him. I didn't care that he could easily take me down with him massive size, but now that I was alone with him I just felt so mad. "You ignore me for like two weeks! No, not just me. You even made poor Quil's life miserable! Remember him, remember your friend?"

For a second, I saw a bit of the old Jacob as he held his head down in shame. "Quil," he whispered, softly. He just shook his head though with the new Jacob returning. The dark scowl on his face present as he stepped forward so that our chests were nearly touch as we faced one another. "What is it that you want, Rio! Why are you here?"

"To talk some sense into that head of yours," I told him. "You were terrified of Sam, remember? You wanted nothing to do with him and now you're best buds? That doesn't make any sense at all, Jacob! None of this does. What has he done to you?"

"This isn't Sam's fault!" Jacob said, angrily defending him. "Sam has been helpful since all of this began. I was wrong about him. I was wrong about a lot of things, especially you."

Like that wasn't a blow to my heart. I flinched for a moment, but I came back with my glare returning even stronger as I looked up into his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?" I shouted at him. "Why are you believing anything Sam even tells you? You're the one who said he was bad news."

"He's not the problem, Rio!" Jacob said, his body shaking as he did so. "But you can't handle the truth, you're not strong enough to deal with reality."

"Like hell I'm not!" I snapped back. "What is it, Jacob! Give me your worst. Who am I suppose to blame for what's going on then?"

"Blame your precious Cullens then," Jacob angrily said to my face. I felt Jacob's words smashing through one of the many walls I had over my heart. I took a step back, flinching from what he said, but he wasn't done with me yet. "This is your bloodsucking friends' fault! They're the reason this is all happening. It's even their fault that you're in so much pain! Everyone knows it, Rio, you can't even handle hearing their name whenever it comes up in a conversation."

I shook my head, keep my distance from Jacob know. I was fighting to keep myself elevated as his initial words shook through my mind. "You're wrong," I said, softly. "You can't be right. They would never—"

"Will you wake up and stop being so naïve!" Jacob shouted at me. "Your precious Cullens aren't as good as you think they are. They're monsters, they're evil."

"No," I whispered as I felt another wall coming down.

Jacob just shook his head at me as he walked passed me. He stopped though once we were beside each other, snatching my arm, which felt burning hot. It reminded me of when he first got sick, when this first started to happen. "I told you that you couldn't handle the truth," he said into my ear. "You're too weak."

He let me go after that, his words pulverizing the last of all my defenses. I felt everything going down as I just stood there at a loss of what just happened. My entire body quivered as I dealt with all the ramifications of Jacob's cruel words to me. It couldn't be their fault. How could he blame the Cullens? They weren't even heard anymore.

I turned around, following him as he went over to his house. I barely made passed my truck when Jacob reached the front door, opening it as he ignored my existence. "Go home, Rio," he said, bitterly. And with those three words, he slammed the door on me and just drove a knife into my exposed heart. I felt the brutal pain, clenching onto my chest as tears began to run down my cheeks with rain falling in the process.

The rain came down like bullets, but I found myself unwilling to move as I stared at the house. I was half hoping that Jacob would come back out and say that it was just a joke and that he didn't mean a word of it. He never did though. I saw him through the window, sitting with the others while Sam and Billy looked out at me. I saw a smile escape Jacob, which is what made me lose it.

It wasn't fair…none of it was fair. How could he hurt me like that and still smile? At least with…at least with Edward, he was sad about what he was doing. Jacob though, he didn't care. He didn't care that he ripped out my broken heart and smashed it into the ground. I wanted him to know how much I was suffering, it wasn't fair that he got to be happy when I was hurting so badly.

The wind grew stronger behind me with the rain coming down heavier. I was clenching my fists together with my eyes glued shut as the storm grew stronger. I heard the thunder above me, but I didn't care enough to move. I wanted something to happen. I wanted them all to hurt.

I opened my eyes just as a flash of lightning nearly struck the house. The lightning bolt ended up bending further to the side though, striking the ground. Everything shook for a moment with a slight fire rising up only to be quickly put out by the powerful rain.

"You need to learn to control yourself." I looked to my side and saw the glowing man there. The figure wore a white robe that completely covered himself from me making out his identity at all. The only thing I knew was that I felt something powerful coming from his body, something powerful enough to make my knees weak. "Allowing your emotions to get the better of you will only leave to your downfall."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" I shouted at him. "I don't even know what I am!"

"You will soon enough," said the glowing man. "Now, Ilario, you must calm down before your hate consumes you. I might not be able to redirect your lightning bolt next time."

The glowing man placed his hand on my shoulder, sending incredible shivers down my spine. I felt all my anger dissipating into oblivion, only to be replaced by all the pain that I felt before. He disappeared too with the storm weakening down only to a nasty downpour. I was left there, looking like a drenched kitten as I turned my head back to the house, seeing a worried look on Jacob and everyone else's face.

I avoided Jacob's eyes because I couldn't guarantee that all the hate was gone. I only managed to move my feet, dragging my soaked self into the truck. I took off after that and drove back home, getting away from the new pain in my chest. Where one scar was healing, Jacob tore the stitches off before making another one. I felt my heart bleeding from the inside as I cried uncontrollably as I struggled to stay in my lane, while I drove home.

Two times I actually had to pull over so I could break down before I drove off the road. I completely submersed myself into a pain that was nearly as great as the one Edward left me with. It was horribly painful. It was survivable, but it left my heart broken in a way that I never knew possible. I was broken from something that was never even real to begin with. I had no claim on Jacob…I shouldn't be crying so hard.

It took me a long time to finally make it back to Forks and by then the storm had passed. Charlie was waiting for me outside as I pulled into the driveway, the only indication that it was later then it seemed. I didn't bother looking at him though as I got out and slowly made my way inside the house, retrieving back into my zombie shell.

"Rio," Charlie said, grabbing my wrist, "what happened. Billy called and said that you and Jacob got into a fight."

"It wasn't a fight," I said, my voice broken from all the tears. "It was a massacre…I hate him!" I broke down at that point, collapsing to my hands and knees. My slick wrist fell from Charlie's grasp as I fell to the ground with more tears running down my face. "I hate you, Jacob Black!"

I completely broke down at that point without any control of myself as I thrashed horribly from the pain and the cold. It took an hour for me to get better, before I could at least stop shaking. Charlie had to help me out of my clothes like the last time and sat me down on the couch with a warm blanket to help.

Charlie went to the phone. I thought he was going to call a doctor when I heard him yell Billy's name. There was a heated exchanged between the two with Charlie yelling so much that I think he popped a blood vessel.

Even if I was only meant to know pain, at least I had a dad who cared enough to stick up for me.

While Charlie fought with Billy, I snuck away into my room. I slammed the door shut behind me and collapsed onto the mattress. Every part of my body felt so horribly weak that it took only a second for me to fall into a deep sleep.

Maybe this time I wouldn't wake up from it…

* * *

**Intruder: **

I honestly managed to get a few hours of sleep that night. I wasn't sure how I managed to accomplish it, but I think it may have done with all the crying I did before then. Even when I woke up in the middle of the night with a completely parched throat and feeling like shit, I still felt like sleeping some more. Every part of my body ached and my heart, especially, felt like it had been ripped out and stomped on, literally.

Lucky for me though that there was a glass of water sitting on the nightstand. I figured that Charlie left it for me, which was nice of him to do. I drank the water to revive part of my body as I slowly began to get up in my dark bedroom. I dropped the blanket that I stole from downstairs so that I know stood in the middle of the room only in my briefs.

I was just thinking about going back to bed when I swear I could hear scratching at my window. Every nerve in my body was running at a million miles an hour as I imagined that Victoria was outside, ready to snatch me at long last. I curled against the headboard, clinging onto my chest as I waited for her to coming bursting into my room, ready to rip me into shreds.

She never came for me though. The scratching continued, but there was no glass shattering. Instead, I heard my name being called out softly by him…it was him.

Running over to my bedroom window, I pushed the blinds open a little to see Jacob standing on the lawn. I was shocked to see him there, but I also felt my heart slamming against my rib cage as I looked down at him. I had barely pulled open my window to see what he wanted when he began to climb my tree. Suddenly, I had a very bad feeling of what he was about to do. He climbed the branches like a spider monkey and began to gracefully walk on the branch that led to my window.

"You're gonna want to move, Rio," Jacob whispered. "I don't want to crash into you."

I followed what he was saying without even really paying attention to him. Somehow, I only felt that I was hallucinating, this was all just a nasty dream, and Jacob wasn't really here. I barely moved away from the window when Jacob came flying in and landed without making a single sound. That was an impressive feat that under better circumstances I would've given him props for. Instead, I just walked over to him and slapped him across the face as my pissed off fury got the better of me.

The sharp crack echoed for only a second, but it wasn't loud enough to wake Charlie up. He learned to ignore any non-eardrum shattering screams.

Jacob's head turned to his left side with a rosy handprint forming on his smooth face. He twisted it back, unhinging his jaw in the process. "I deserved that," he said, softly. "Rio‒" I cut him off before he could finish his sentence by slapping him on the other side. His head turned back, but he snapped it in place once more. "I deserved that one too." He held up his hands, defending himself from another slap that was coming his way. "And before you slap me again let me apologize to you. I should've never said those cruel things to you. I especially shouldn't have been ignoring you these past couple of weeks."

"Then why did you?" I hissed at him. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? Charlie is ready to bust a cap in your ass now and I wouldn't stop him."

"That's a little…much, don't ya think?" Jacob asked, trying to laugh away the seriousness of the situation. I only glared at him with one eyebrow raised at him. He seemed to take the hint and began to sigh as he took a step away from him. "Rio, I'm sorry about all of this. I just can't tell anyone about what's going on. Maybe this will make sense. Have you ever had to keep a secret that just wasn't yours? Like this secret effects a lot of people and could make things very dangerous for everyone if they knew?"

I could think of at least two secrets that I had to keep hidden. The first being the fact that vampires were real and the Cullens were a coven of vampires. The second being that I wasn't all human, which was something I was still trying to understand. Neither Charlie or Reneé exhibited any non-human characteristics. Unless somebody had an affair, which I doubt happened.

To humor Jacob without saying much, I only nodded my head at him.

"Good then you understand the thought of it," Jacob said, leaning against the wall. "Well, for me it's far worse then you could imagine. Even though I want to tell you everything, I can't. I can't tell you anything, no matter how hard I try."

"Is it because of Sam?" I asked as I sat down on my bed.

"Yeah," Jacob said, weakly. "It's for our safety though. Billy knows about it, the entire council knows about it, the immediate families know, but the rest of the population is excluded from the truth."

"What are you then?"

"I can't tell you, remember?"

I nodded my sleepy head, I forgotten about that for a minute. I gave out a soft sight as I stared at Jacob, seeing the gentle old Jacob that I found happiness with. The nasty, hurtful new Jacob wasn't anywhere near us, which made me feel just a little better. Although, my eyes hadn't fully adjusted to the dark, I could still tell that Jacob was damn near naked still. To make it easier on my tired eyes, I flicked on the light switch to my lamp.

There was a soft light that illuminated the room, making the headache that was brewing go away. I curled up onto my bed, covering my nearly naked form. I hadn't been this exposed to someone since…well, since the night before Edward left. I wasn't comfortable with this yet so now I really wished that I had something else to wear.

Jacob made his way over to my bed, planting himself down at the edge to leave some space between us. He looked at me with the puppy dog eyes that made my broken heart melt into putty as his hand reached out to mine that covered my knees. "I'm really sorry about today, Rio," he whispered. "I know what I said was unbelievably cruel and probably opened a lot of scars. I hope you can forgive me someday."

"You made your own scars," I told him, taking my hand from his. "You left me far more damaged then I was before. I came home crying and told Charlie that I hated you. Well, I hate this new you. I want the old, nice Jacob back…like you are now."

"I'm still him, sort of," Jacob said, softly. "I had to change though, but I'll try to be the same old Jacob whenever I'm around you." He picked himself up and got on his knees as he crawled towards me. I flinched up into a ball as he laid beside me on my bed, wrapping an arm around my freezing body. The ungodly amount of body heat that he was generating made me feel a lot warmer as I submerged myself in his touch. "You know, I never seen you with so little clothing before. I like the red briefs, very sexy."

"Shut up," I said, trying to laugh, but failed miserably.

He held onto my tighter, which made me relax a little. Maybe he was right, maybe he could be the same old Jacob around me. So I got out of my defensive position and relaxed as he held me close to his chest. I had my hand resting on his stomach while the other was buried between us. Despite everything that happened today, this felt nice. It felt very natural for me to be here with Jacob like this.

"I've been thinking," said Jacob, "about a way to fix this predicament I'm in. If you can just guess the right answer then there's nothing to keep me from telling you everything. You would have already figured out the hard part so all I would need to do is fill in the blanks."

"Yay for loopholes," I mumbled against him.

Jacob laughed against me, the vibrations of his laughter sent waves over my body as he held me close. I was beginning to feel exceptionally drowsy as his giant hand ran up and down my naked back. The other was placed on the side of my leg, running dangerously close to my ass. I didn't bother to fight Jacob's advances this time, I was enjoying our closeness together, and it made me feel better.

"Do you have any guesses yet?" Jacob whispered to me.

"I don't even know what I should be guessing for," I told him.

He frowned as he held me close, rotating us a little so that I was laying on top of him. Part of me was hanging off him, but for the most part I was on top of him. "This might help, I already told you what we were before this ever happened," he said. "Do you remember the day we first met after you came back to Forks? We were on the beach."

"The stories," I said, my mind drifting back to that day. "You talked about your tribe and the Cold Ones."

"Is there anything else you can remember?" he asked, pushing me further. "Come on, Rio. You have to remember, it's the only way this will work."

"Jacob," I said, while pushing myself from him, "I can barely remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. I'm too tired and I feel too shitty to think about anything right now. Maybe I can remember something in the morning, not now though."

Jacob began to smile as he slowly pushed himself up. I could still see the old Jacob, the good Jacob that made everything feel just right. He still crawled over to me though with his hand touching the side of my face and the back of my head. "Do you trust me?" he whispered as he leaned in close. I didn't know what to say because before I even blinked, his lips were over mine and I suddenly felt fireworks exploding in my mind.

I wrapped my arms around Jacob, pulling myself closer to him. His hands soon found their way to my waist and held me up as the kiss deepened. Suddenly, I couldn't feel all the pain that had been boiling up inside me since Edward left. My heart was healing, I couldn't feel the hurt that had been bothering me for so long. With a single kiss, I felt complete again.

We pulled away from each other and he gently laid me back down on the bed. Jacob slowly began to crawl off my bed with a cocky smile on his face as he did so. "Wow, now that was pretty epic if I do say so," Jacob said, stroking his own ego. "Rio, when you remember, you might not want anything to do with me but I need to know still. So if you decide you want nothing to do with me then can you at least call me?"

"What if I still want to be with you?" I asked. "What then?"

'Then, we'll just have to wait and see," Jacob said, smiling at me.

I smiled back at him as I got up from my bed, helping him out the window. He easily shimmed down the drain pipe with far more grace he ever had before whatever happened to him. He disappeared into the woods and I shut my window, praying for his safety as I did so.

When I got back into bed, I quickly began to fall into a deep sleep again. Not before remembering what happened at the beach a year ago. I saw myself walking down with Jacob as he told me some of the stories of his tribe. At the time, I only cared about the about the Cold Ones aka vampire. But another story finally reached through my memory, one about wolves.

And that's when all my dreams began to make sense from before. The great black wolf and Sam, they had to be one of the same. Then the other I had ages ago of Jacob becoming a wolf to protect me from a bloodthirsty Edward. And even at the meadow, it truly was Jacob I saw in that wolf's body.

My body shook with shock as I woke up in the morning. "Werewolves!" I said, the name ripping through my throat. I gave out heavy gasps for breath as I spoke the name out loud, amazed that even these creatures were real as well. Were there no limits to what existed in this world.

I barely tore the covers off my body and quickly went through my closet to find something to wear. I ran down the stairs, finding Charlie there on the phone. I walked in quietly, hearing how he was talking about the missing campers and the wolf tracks. That's when he also said that volunteers were gathering around town to hunt the wolves. My heart stopped for a minute as I thought about the old myths revolving around werewolves.

Jacob was a killer and so was everyone else in Sam's gang, that's why he gave me that warning. I couldn't just abandon Jacob right now though, not after I knew the truth. Maybe…just maybe I might be able to pull him away from this evil.

I ran out of the door before Charlie realized I was even there, running to my truck as I quickly went up to La Push.

* * *

**Killer:**

The drive left me with plenty of time to think about what I was going to do, what I was going to say to Jacob. Despite being a killer, I had to warn Jacob of what might happen if he followed these beastly urges. I didn't want him to be killed, but then I faced the moral dilemma of having to protect a murder, well murders including the four other boys.

Ugh, this would be so much easier if they weren't the ones killing people. If they were innocent of these crimes then I'd feel so much better about telling them what may happen to them. At least then they had a chance to get away and go into hiding until all this mess calmed down. If only it was that easy for once in my life.

The least I could do for Jacob was to confront him personally. It wouldn't be as heartbreaking as the last time, maybe now I would get the answers I needed. Who knows, I might be able to help steer away from being blood-thirsty monsters and become "vegetarians" like the Cullens. I had to at least try, I couldn't just sit there and do nothing and let innocent people get hurt in the process.

A face-to-face was exactly what the doctor ordered.

I made it down to La Push in like no time flat. The weather was on my side for a change and there weren't any crazed hunters running around on the middle of the road, yet. Hopefully, Charlie hadn't hit the saddle just yet and I could stop this tragedy from happening before the hunt could begin. I knew that time wasn't on my side so I needed to hurry.

I pulled into the driveway and practically ran out of the truck. Billy managed to beat me to the door, giving me a questioning glare that screamed that I wasn't welcome here. However, Billy was far too civilized to say that to my face.

"What are you doing here, Rio?" said Billy.

"No time for chit-chat, Billy," I said, pushing Billy back. As comedic and wrong as this was, I didn't care that I was pushing a wheel-chair bound man around. I pushed Billy to the couch as I ran to the back of the house to where Jacob's room was. "Jacob and I need to have a talk before he gets himself killed."

"What!" Billy shouted.

I left Billy with that as I pushed the doorknob to Jacob's door open. With the swing of the door, I stepped into Jacob's tiny as hell bedroom. And I mean tiny! I could barely get passed the door before I knocked into his feet which were dangling off his tiny, twin-sized mattress. His colossal body was hanging off all over the place with his blanket discarded on the floor and only his boxers to keep him clothed.

The fact that he was half-naked didn't seem to bother me. What got to me though was just how innocent Jacob looked while he slept. As I looked at his sleeping form, there was a gentle smile on his face that just made my resolve melt away. Jacob couldn't be a killer, he was too pure of a soul to do anything like that. I had to be mistaken…I had to be wrong.

Cautiously, I retreated from his bedroom and quietly closed his door behind me. I walked over to the living room where Billy was still looking at me with paralyzed fear on his face. I kept it simple, telling him to tell Jacob to meet me at the beach as soon as he woke up. I said goodbye to Billy as I made my way outside, retreating back to my truck.

The ride over to the beach was a short one since their house wasn't too far from it. I silenced the engine and made my way over to the sand. I found some driftwood to sit on that was dry enough to keep me from getting wet and sturdy enough to hold me up. I sat down, staring out to the wide ocean, wishing I could be a fish.

Life would be so much easier, just swimming around the endless sea opposed to living this never-ending, supernatural nightmare.

Seriously, couldn't I catch a break from all these monsters jumping out and attacking me?

"You should've just called me if you wanted nothing more to do with me." Jacob's sudden voice startled me as I fell of the log and landed on the sand. Well, I almost landed in the sand, his hand snatched me up before I was all sandy. I turned my head back and saw him, clothed for a change. He wore a simple t-shirt with a pair of shorts that went down to his knees.

Jacob helped me get back up on my own feet. When his hand relinquished my wrist, I took the opportunity to take hold of his. "I couldn't just give up on you, Jacob," I said, softly. "Not now. I have to at least try and help you that way I can clear my conscious."

"So you do remember then," he said, smiling.

"A werewolf?" I asked to be certain. Jacob nodded his head as he broke away from me, a cheery smile growing on his face. I couldn't totally understand why he was so excited about all of this, but maybe he was sure I could help him. "You need to stop hurting people, Jacob. You have to find a way to convince the others to stop killing people before the hunters come and get you."

"Killing people?" Jacob said with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean? Rio, what are you talking about?"

"The missing campers," I told him, "the ones that all the wolf tracks are being found. You're the ones who are killing them."

As I finished the rest of my thought, Jacob began to laugh at me. I mean he really began to laugh with a deep laugh that pounded against my chest. I yelled at him, trying to figure out what was so funny about this but he stopped me, while still smiling. "We're not the ones who are killing the campers, Rio," he said, strongly. "We're trying to stop the killer, but we're too late everytime."

"So you're not the ones who are attacking the campers?" I asked to confirm this.

"We're the good guys, I swear," Jacob said, confidently.

"Oh thank God!" I said, sighing with relief.

Jacob was still cracking his smile as he placed a hand on the side of my face. He gently stroked my hair back, sending warm chills throughout my body. "You really thought we were the ones killing people?" he said, softly. I only nodded my head, unable to speak at the moment. "And you thought you could what…convince me to not be a killer?"

"I had to try and save you before it was too late," I told him. "If the Cullens could be good then I knew it was possible for you too."

"Right," he said, angrily, "the Cullens." He practically hissed their names out of his mouth as he walked away from me, which made me flinch. It was the fact that their name hurt me any longer, it was just the way he said that. There was so much anger and hate in his voice that I just couldn't understand it. "This is their fault to begin with. It's all because that they exist that we're forced to change into wolves, it's a defense mechanism for certain men in my tribe."

That I knew had to be a lie, at least, to some extent. I ran up to him, standing firmly before him. "But the Cullens have been gone for months," I told Jacob. "You and Embry shouldn't have been affected by them." Unless that was a lie too. Could they have really been here still, but just kept themselves so well hidden that not even I could find them?

Jacob just shook his head at me though. He took hold of my hands, leaning in closer to me. "You know that's not true, Rio," he said, softly. "Just think of that dark haired vampire that attacked you in the meadow." I flinched as he mentioned that. So that was even more proof that Jacob was the wolf that came up to me. They all survived their encounter with Laurent to tell the tale. "Sam said that he was here before and that's what caused Embry to change." I already knew that he was talking about Laurent. He must've been trying to find me for some time or at least the Cullens. "He also brought a red head with him, which caused me to change as well."

Without any mention of anything more specific, I felt ice coursing through my veins as I looked up to Jacob. I knew that I must've looked frightful at that point because he looked very concerned as he tighten his grip on my hands. "Victoria," I said, my voice cracking. "Laurent brought Victoria here? Is she…is she still here?"

"Victoria?" Jacob repeated. "No, at least, not really. She ran away after we killed the dark haired one, but she keeps coming back from time to time. We managed to chase her away from town. It's so weird though. All of our legends concerning those damn bloodsuckers says that the mates are very protective of each other. Whenever we manage to kill one, their mate comes back to have their revenge."

"That's because Victoria isn't after you to avenge Laurent," I told him. "Victoria wants revenge for her real mate, James."

"Who's James?" Jacob nearly yelled at me.

"The vampire that tried to kill me last spring," I said, weakly. "Edward killed James so Victoria wants to avenge him and get back at Edward by killing me."

Jacob released my hands at that point with a grave look appearing on his face. I knew he was probably copying the look of fear on my face, but his was far more terrifying. He took a few steps away from me before asking if I was sure about this. I nodded my head, which caused him to say he'd be back.

Jacob began to run away from me, leaving me alone on the beach. I watched his figure as he ran over to the woods that were by us, which worried me as to what he was going to do. I clenched my stomach by instinct, worried that he might be doing something dangerous when I heard a faint howl, at least I thought it was a howl.

I began to run over to my truck just as Jacob remerged from the woods. He ran over to my truck, pulling the passenger door open just as I got into the driver's seat. "What did you do?" I asked him. "Was that you howling?"

"Yeah," Jacob confessed. "I had to howl to get everyone's attention. I told everyone to meet up as the field that I took you riding at. What you told me just blew out all the theories that Sam had so I called for an emergency meeting. Everyone needs to know what this bloodsucker wants."

"And you did all of that with just one howl?" I asked, trying to get used to this wolf thing.

I barely started up the engine when Jacob began to correct me. "Actually, the howl was just to get their attention," Jacob explained. So I listened to him as I drove over to the field where I nearly died while riding a bike. "You see, we have a telepathy thing going when we're in our wolf form. We can hear each other's thoughts and communicate that way no matter how far away we are. It's very convenient, but also very annoying. It's nearly impossible to keep any secrets from each other and it always feels like four other voices in your head."

A smirk formed on my lips as I thought back to the time I spent with Edward. The restaurant was the first thing that came to mind as I went back to our date. "That sounds like what Edward told me," I said, softly. "He's able to read thoughts too, but his power doesn't discriminate. He learned to control it so that he wouldn't have to hear all the voices."

"So it's true then," Jacob asked, "the bloodsuckers have other powers?"

"Vampires," I said, correcting Jacob. "Stop calling the Cullens bloodsuckers, I don't care what you call Victoria or any other vampire, but leave the Cullens out of it."

"Why?" Jacob shot back. "That's what they do. They're monsters, Rio."

"Jacob, you're a werewolf!" I said back to him. "All the werewolf lore out there says that you are rapid dogs that can't control yourselves and destroy anything you come into contact with. Just because your tribe aren't monsters, doesn't mean that there others out there that are. I know you wouldn't like it if I called you a mutt or a flea bag, would you?"

Jacob huffed as he leaned back against the seat. "Since you put it that way, I guess it does sound pretty brutal," he said, softly. "Alright then. So it's true that vampires have other abilities like Edward and his mind reading ability?"

"Some do," I told him. "Jasper and Alice were the only other ones who had any powers. They said that Jasper could control emotions to an extent, basically he could only calm a room of violent townspeople down to a civilized group. As for Alice, she could see a person's immediate future based on the road they were going down, but since the future is always changing with our decisions, so do her visions."

"What about the other bloodsucker, Victoria?" he asked, not letting the bloodsucker word go. I didn't care this time though since I knew he was only talking about her.

"As far as I know, she is just a regular vampire," I told him as we arrived to the fields. "When James was after me though, Laurent warned us that we shouldn't underestimate though. He said that he never met any vampires crueler then James and Victoria. Since Victoria's hellbent on revenge, I don't even want to think what she's capable of. Laurent did warn me though that if Victoria got her hands on me that I would suffer a horribly before she finally killed me."

That sent chills down my spine as I clung onto my skinny form. The thin sweater I was wearing hardly did anything to help keep me warm as fear crept its way into my heart. Edward promised that I would be safer with him not around, but it looked like I was only in far greater danger now.

Jacob helped though by wrapping his arms around me. He looked me in the eyes with his warm body melting away the freezing cold that was killing me. "Don't worry about her, I'll protect you from her," he whispered to me. "Now that you know what I am, I can protect you. She won't get anywhere near you."

"I don't want you to get hurt, Jacob," I said, remembering just how indestructible a vampire was. I still couldn't understand how five wolves were able to kill Laurent. How could they when all they had were their teeth and fangs as their only weapon. Laurent had that plus full function of his arms and legs with all that supernatural strength.

"I'm not exactly weak, Rio," he said, smiling at me. "We wolves are built tough, which is why we're the natural enemy of the bloodsuckers. We have to be tough if we're going to compete with them. That's why there's always a large number of us. We outnumber them and tare them apart."

"I still don't want you to get hurt because of me," I told him.

"Don't fret," he said, kissing me cheek.

He moved his hands away from my waist and took hold of my hands. He gently began to pulled me further down the field where the woods were. He said that he felt that they were near. Before they showed up though, he gave me a quick rundown of things not to do. He said that Sam was something called an Alpha, so that meant everyone else in the pack obeyed his every word. And he warned me to do whatever it takes not to make anyone angry. Not sure what that meant as I followed Jacob with one of my hands free now as I saw four boys emerge from the woods.

Suddenly, I felt like this was a very bad idea.

* * *

**Family:**

Of course, I was right about this being a bad idea. Although Jacob stood as a guard between me and the other boys, I could feel all the hostility in the air and the testosterone elevating to dangerous levels. Jacob's buddies were not happy one bit that I was there and they weren't afraid to show it, especially one of them.

"Jacob," Sam said, sternly, "you broke my command."

"I didn't," Jacob said, looking like he was shaking for a moment. Despite the two being equal in size, I could sense that Jacob wasn't at ease about it. I guess it had to do with Sam being the Alpha thing. "Rio figured it out on his own. Your orders were only for me not to tell him what we were, he guess right so I didn't have to keep the secret."

"Loophole!" I heard Embry's familiar voice.

Sam seemed to relax a little, he wasn't a hundred percent pleased by this, but he wasn't as hostile towards Jacob now. Even Jacob finally took a calming breath along with Embry and another one of the boys. The last of them though, he still looked utterly furious as he fumed his way over towards Jacob and me.

"You still should've kept it a secret, Jacob!" he roared at us. "Instead, you just let the leech-lover in our secret. What's to stop him from telling the red-head leech everything about us?"

"Calm down, Paul," said Sam.

I pushed myself away from behind Jacob, looking Paul straight in the eye. "Because I'm not an idiot like you, dumbass," I snapped back, "and her name is Victoria."

That suddenly felt like a very bad idea. The look on his face was screaming with rage as his body began to twitch uncontrollably. Jacob quickly got in front of me, while Sam yelled at Paul to calm himself down. Paul wasn't listening though. Right before my eyes, Paul immediately transformed into a large, silver-furred wolf with all traces of his human self disappearing from sight.

Jacob quickly pushed me away as he ran over to the wolf-Paul. He barely had time to yank off one of his shoes before I saw him change. It was all in the blink of the eye. Jacob transformed into a giant, russet-brown wolf that I remembered from all my visions. I gasped, feeling the sheer power behind Jacob's wolf form that made me shake more so then the power I felt from Paul's wolf form.

Wolf-Jacob quickly smashed into wolf-Paul, sending him flying across the field. It was not but a second later that wolf-Jacob was on wolf-Paul again. They were snapping at each other with their fangs and trying to pin the other down by their incredible size. I was sure that Jacob would have Paul beat by his sheer size, but Paul was a little more hostile then I anticipated.

Sam and the others quickly ran over to me. Embry helped to get me back on my feet, while the other boy stood beside me on guard. Sam stood in front of all us, his eyes locked on the fight that was going on between his pack mates.

"Jared, Embry, get Rio out of here!" ordered Sam. "Take him to Emily's and wait there. Don't forget to take the clothes with you."

"On it, big dog!" Jared said, running after destroyed clothing.

"Go show Paul who's the boss!" said Jared.

Sam quickly stripped out of his clothes, I turned away because I didn't need to see that. I heard a sharp howl and quickly saw Sam as a huge, black wolf that raced over towards Jacob and Paul with remarkable speed. He threw himself between the two, Paul still trying to snap passed him to get at Jacob with Jacob doing the same.

There was no way that this fight was ending anytime soon.

I was left, paralyzed by my fear as I stared at the fight before me. It wasn't until I saw Embry back in my line of sight with a pile of clothes in his hand that I snapped back into it. Embry wasn't paying any attention to me though, he was busy talking to the Jared boy.

"Damn, did you see how quick Jacob changed?" said Embry. "He did that in the drop of a dime. He's a total natural at all of this."

"I still think Paul's going to kick his ass," said Jared. "Jacob is so stupid, getting that boy involved in all of this."

"Come on, Rio can handle himself!" Embry said, in my defense. "The dude runs with vampires. You know he's got to be tougher then we give him credit for."

"Whatever man," Jared said, picking the last of the clothes up. "It looks like Jacob's out of shoes. Billy is going to be pissed, he said that this was the last pair he could afford."

"I guess he'll just have to walk around barefoot from now on," Embry laughed. "Anyways, I bet that Jacob will totally kick Paul's ass! Paul is a total dick and deserves to have his ass chewed out."

"Not even, man!" said Jared. "Jacob is going to get it from Paul. I'm willing to bet you ten bucks that Paul wins!"

"Deal!" said Embry as he helped me up. "Come on, Rio. We need to get you to Emily's place."

"Then you'd better drive," I said, shaking s I handed him the keys. "I'm in no condition to drive."

Embry took my keys, but not before looking me in the eyes. He nodded his head as he contend to help me into the truck, while Jared jumped in the cab part. "Yeah, you look like you're about to hurl," he told me. "You just rest up, I'll take care of all the driving."

"I bet five bucks that he's going to hurl in the truck!" Jared shouted from the back.

"You're on!" Embry shouted back as he started the engine. He leaned in closer towards me, a serious look on his face. "Try not to puke, please Rio! I can't afford to pay Jared if I lose both the bets."

"I'll try," I said, unrolling my window just as the wolves disappeared into the woods.

My mind was numb for the rest of the ride as I spent my time worrying about Jacob getting seriously hurt. It bothered me how plainly Embry and Quil treated things as Embry drove my truck to an unfamiliar part of town. They acted like it was no big deal at all, siding with either Jacob or Paul for the fight. They weren't even concerned for Sam's own safety with a fight between two of them getting intense.

I tried to calm down, but this constant worry was getting the better of me.

Embry eventually pulled up to the rocky driveway of a total, unfamiliar house. This must belong to this Emily person that Sam told them to take me to. I looked at the tanned color home and the beautiful flower beds at the front of the house. The home was a splash of color that seemed so warm and strange at the same time. But as I made my way out of the truck, I felt an odd wave of peace rush over me as I did so.

As I stepped outside, I saw Embry cheering for victory as he punched Jared on the shoulder. I turned around to see Embry tell Jared to pay up. Jared, with a sore face, took out a five from his pocket and handed it over to Embry, which he accepted cheerfully. I shook my head at them as I continued to look at the house, not wanting the first to be there since I was a stranger here.

"Hey Rio," Embry said, putting his hand on my shoulder, "do us a favor. Whatever you do, don't stare too much at Emily's face. Sam hates it."

"Okay?" I said, not sure why he was asking this. "Are Emily and Sam related or something?"

"Engaged," Jared corrected as he took a large whiff. "Great! Emily is baking muffins!"

That was all that it took for Embry and Jared to run over to the house. I followed them as they did so, Jared swung the open and managed to be the first to squeeze in with Embry not too far behind. I was the last to enter, looking around to see the cozy looking, one-story home that looked a little more spacious then mine.

Jared and Embry sat themselves down at a table that was properly set up with plenty of blueberry muffins all over the place. The place smelled so good that it made my empty stomach rumble with a serious need to eat. I walked deeper into the threshold until I reached the dining area that Jared and Embry were sitting away at. They were acting their food wildly that it was no wonder that someone came out from the kitchen to stop them.

"Enough of that!" said a young woman. "Save some for your brothers." I picked my head up to her, seeing an attractive, young woman walking in with a large bowl of eggs. I naturally assumed that this was Emily. She looked like she had enough food to feed an army, but the way that Embry and Jared attacked it looked like it wouldn't be enough. I took a good look at her, wondering why Embry warned me not to stare at her for long.

That was until I saw that. Her shinny black hair fell over her shoulder, exposing a wicked set of scars on her coppery skin that ran down her face. From what I saw from the short sleeve of her shirt, the scar ran all the way down to her arms. I had to bite down on my tongue to keep myself from saying anything that would be regrettable.

"Who is this?" she asked Embry and Jared.

"Rio Swan," Embry said, mumbling around his food. "Rio, this is Emily, Sam's fiancé."

Emily simply smiled, a warm and gentle smile that shouldn't have had to be on the face of someone so scarred. It was sad and I wondered why this happened to her, but I knew that this wasn't the time to ask. "Ah, so you're the vampire boy," she said, raising her eyebrow at me.

"Then I'm guessing you're the wolf girl," I said back at her.

Her smile grew larger as she grabbed a blueberry muffin and tossed it to me. I barely caught it, amazed that the delicate treat didn't crumble as I did so. "Go ahead and eat something before the others get here," she said to me. "Why aren't the others here again? Sam said you were having an emergency meeting."

"Paul transformed when he saw Rio," said Jared. "He thought that Jacob sold us out, it turned out that Rio is just smart and found a loophole to Sam's rules."

Emily shook her head with frustrated disgust as she went back to the kitchen. "Paul is getting to be a handful," she said, angrily. "There has to be something we could do about sealing his powers if we can't get his anger in check."

"Ouch," Jared and Embry said, painfully.

I could only imagine that sealing a werewolf's power would be a painful process as I took a bite into the muffin. It tasted incredibly delicious, her muffins were way better than mine were. I began to walk towards the other end of the table, closer to the kitchen and further away from the door since I wasn't sure if the others would pop up soon.

As the thought left my head, Sam appeared into the house with a grin on his face. The discarded clothing that Jared and Embry left behind on the hood of my truck was back on their proper owner. Sam walked over to the kitchen just as Emily returned. He placed loving kiss on her lips, which made my heart turn with pain as I looked away from them.

Instead, I tried to focus in on Jacob and Paul. The two of them were walking into the house, playfully shoving each other like nothing ever happened. It bothered me considering that Paul just tried to kill me and here was Jacob acting all buddy-buddy with him.

Paul took a seat at the table, turning his head to look at me. "Sorry, Rio," he said, almost like he was being forced too. "I hope you don't take any offense."

"Offense taken," I said, forgetting the existence of my muffin for a moment. "I don't easily forgive those who try to kill me. At least not before stabbing them with a knife."

Paul flinched for a moment, while everyone looked at me like I was crazy. I only shrugged my shoulders as I went back to picking at my muffin.

Jacob tried to clear the bad air with a loud, fake cough as he went over to my side. He had two muffins in his hand and was leaning against the wall with me. He was probably doing a better job at keeping the house supported then I was.

"Who won the fight?" I asked.

"I did, of course," Jacob said, smiling.

"Yes!" Embry shouted as he jumped to his feet. He leaned over the table, holding his hand out to Jared. "Pay up, man-bitch! That's ten dollars!"

"Damnit Jacob!" Jared said as he dug his hand through his pocket. He pulled out a few bills then handed them over to Embry. "You couldn't have just taken one for the team and let Paul win for once? Now I'm broke for the next two weeks."

"Never bet against me," Jacob said as he went back to eating his muffin.

I huffed as I thought about what the Cullens always said about Alice. You should never bet against someone who could see into the future, you'd always lose. But I shook that thought away from me as I looked down at Jacob's feet and saw that he really did have no shoes. "I heard you can't afford anymore shoes," I said, softly.

"It sucks," Jacob said, looking down at his huge feet. "Oh well."

"I'll buy you a new pair," I told him. "Shoes are on sale at work and I get an extra thirty percent off for working there."

Jacob grinned as he wrapped an arm around my neck. "Well, I'll be damned," he said, laughing. "I got me a sugar daddy." I huffed as I pushed his heavy arm off me, returning my attention to my neglected muffin.

Sam was the one who turned everyone's attention from the light-humor back to what we were all supposed to be talking about. Emily took a seat at the table, while everyone else looked with wonder in their eyes as to what they were doing here. Jacob was the one who took a step forward, clearing his throat as he prepared to explain. I stopped him though, putting my hand on his arm.

"I should explain it," I told him. "It's best if they hear it from the source."

"You sure?" Jacob said. "I don't want to bring up any bad memories."

"Too late," I said, sadly.

I pushed myself ahead of Jacob, putting my muffin down at a plate on the table. I straightened myself up, looking upon four of the five werewolves and a human. Jacob moved from behind me so that he could face me properly as well. This suddenly got a lot harder for me to say, but I had to say it for everyone's sake.

"As you know, I dated Edward Cullen," I said, getting that out of the way. "I was close to the Cullens until they left Forks. Last spring, this nomadic coven came to Forks while I was out with the Cullens. They said that they were only passing by as they moved to Canada, the Cullens showed that this area was their territory and that they had no business hunting on their land. They seemed to respect this and were about to leave until one of them realized that I was human."

"His name was James and he was a Tracker," I said, grimly. I noticed that I had everyone's full attention at this point. Paul seemed disgusted by my opening state, but he calmed down when Sam and Jacob glared at him. I knew it probably wasn't easy for Jacob to hear too, but it was only going to get worse from this point on. "James tried to attack me, but the Cullens protected me. They managed to drive them back, but Edward knew that James would come back because he had never been defied before. I was a game to James, he never met any vampire who were willingly protecting a human so he wanted to kill me to prove his superiority over them."

Emily gasped at this point, even Embry stopped eating as he watched me carefully.

"So I ran away from Washington with two of the Cullens. We created a fake story where I told my dad that I hated Forks and that I was miserable here. I went into hiding back in Arizona, while the rest of the Cullens chased James and his mate, the red head you know, Victoria away from the state. They thought if they put enough fear into James and Victoria that they'd stay away from me and Forks. That didn't work though. They saw through the Cullens plan so Victoria managed to track my old address in Arizona down and James went there. He tricked me into believing that he had my mother and that he would kill her if I didn't hand myself over."

"Naturally, I left the safety of the Cullens to save my mother," I said, sadly. "It was a trap though. He never had my mother, he just used a recording of her voice to lure me out of hiding. I tried to fight James, I even managed to hurt him when I drove a knife through his foot, but that didn't save me. He shattered most of the bones in my body and then bit me on the wrist, infecting me with his poison." I held up the scar on my wrist to prove a point. The icy blue scar would be my constant reminder of how close I came to death. "I was nearly dead when the Cullens finally found me. It was Edward who destroyed James, Dr. Cullen managed to save my life though as he reset my bones and had Edward drain the poison from my system."

"You're probably wondering what this has to do with you all," I said, ending it. "Well, like I said before, Victoria is James's mate. She is the red head that keeps coming into town. She wants revenge on the Cullens for killing James, and she knows that the best way to get revenge is through me. She wants to kill me to make Edward suffer, even though the Cullens are gone…for good, that's not going to stop her. She wants me dead and she will make sure that I suffer a slow, terrible death."

I finished the story with a heavy sigh, deciding to take a seat in the chair in front of me. I don't remember ever speaking so much before in my life. I watched as everyone else was processing this information, each on taking it differently. Emily looked honestly frightful for me, I sensed a whole lot of sympathy coming from her.

It was Jared who was the first to break through the silence. He was scratching his head as he looked to me, a confused look on his face. "You said you stabbed the James leech with a knife, right?" he asked. I nodded my head, making him look more confused. "How is that possible. I don't know a knife out there that's strong enough to break through their skin."

My hand reached up to my face, brushing my bangs back as I looked at Jared. I glance briefly at everyone else, wondering how to put it to them gently. Well, I don't think there was a gentle way at pointing this. "I'm not fully human," I said, calmly. Each one had a different expression on their face, wondering what I meant by that. "I'm part something else, I just don't know what yet. Whatever I am though, I am a magical being so I used magic to fight James. I had enough power to hurt him and Laurent, I'm sure you saw that one in the meadow. I used a ray of white light to hurt him."

"So that was you then," Embry said, leaning in close. "I thought my eyes were just playing a trick on me."

"And you have no clue what you might be?" asked Emily.

A soft smile formed on my face as I thought about the old theory. "Edward thought I was an angel. He said that there was always something divine about me, but it turns out that there's nothing angelic about me." I gave out a sigh as I erased that memory my thoughts. "The truth is what I am comes from Norse mythology," I said, calmly. "I sometimes have visions. Actually, it was my visions that told me that you were wolves before this mess even happened. A higher power speaks to me, at least, I like to think it's a higher power."

"Weird," Paul said, resuming eating his food.

Sam called for everyone's attention as he got closer to the table with Jacob following behind. "Either way, we need to protect Rio and Charlie from this Victoria," he said, firmly. "She's already proven that she is willing to kill any human who gets in her way. That's why I suggest we keep Rio and Charlie in La Push as much as possible, so that we can lure her into our grasps."

"How are we going to break this up?" Embry asked. "Are we going to pull shifts? It's going to be hard since there is an uneven number of us."

"Isn't Quil almost ready to change?" Jared asked.

"Yes, but we can't wait for him," said Sam. "We have no idea when she might decide to strike, we can't afford to try and wait for Quil to change."

I looked over at Jacob who only nodded his head at me. Soon poor Quil would be dragged into all of this mess. That left a horrible taste in my mouth, knowing that I was dragging more innocent people down into hell with me. I thought about that for a moment, while I heard just how plainly they were taking this situation.

They were all speaking so cocky how they'd kill Victoria in a second. They said how they made Laurent the cry out in pain as they tore him to bits that she'd be no better. It was then that I finally had enough and began to burst as I jumped back to my feet.

"You're all idiots!" I shouted at them. They all grew silent as I pushed the chair away from me. I was so frustrated how arrogantly they were handling the situation. Their safety and lives were on the line, but the treated it like a picnic. "You have no idea what she is capable of! You don't understand how cruel she is. You don't have any idea how terrifying it is to be around her."

"Rio," Jacob said, trying to calm me down.

"Don't Rio me!" I said to him. "I'm going to give you the same warning that Laurent gave me not long before I left Forks. He said that James and Victoria are the fiercest vampires he's met in his existence. They are cruel and they are strong. They made him shake in his boots with fear. He said it was unwise to underestimate Victoria because she would take advantage of that and destroy you. I don't want that on my conscious! I don't want any of you to get hurt because of me, let alone because you didn't take her seriously. I'm the one who is going to have to live with that for the rest of his life."

Jacob grabbed a hold of me. I hadn't even realized I was shaking or that I was crying until I felt myself against his chest. My body was trembling uncontrollably and I felt the wet stains of my tears against his body. I could barely see the others from the angle I was in, but I took notice that they were beginning to see it all a little more clearly now.

Sam took my warning seriously though, more so then I think the others did too. As their Alpha, he needed to be more concerned for their individual safety. I knew that he didn't want to lose any of his wolves because they were being reckless against their enemy.

I gave out a heavy sigh, fearing the worst when I felt my entire body tensed up.

_My mind escaped my body as I reappeared on the meadow that was becoming a reoccurring theme in my visions. I stood at the center of the meadow, wondering just what was going on now. I saw a blur followed by wolves emerging from the woods, each one growling with anger. I didn't understand why until I saw Victoria standing beside me, a dark smile on her otherwise flawless face with a white dress clothing her body. _

"_You can't save them from me," she said, softly. "They will die all because of you."_

_Before I even knew, Victoria had already made her move. In less than a second, each of the wolves began to fall to the ground with cold stares escaping each of their eyes. Victoria reappeared in front of me, her body and dress covered from head to toe in blood as she laughed at me._

"_Told you so," Victoria said before springing herself on me._

* * *

**Pressure: **

Spring Break was finally here and it was anything but relaxing.

After my freak-out at Sam's place and the vision that followed, everything felt like it had changed. The wolves were taking on a serious, defensive role as they tried to keep Victoria away from the populace as well as take the opportunity to kill her. Everytime they got anywhere near her though, from what I heard, she would escape before she could get harmed. They kept cursing their luck for not being quick enough to get the jump on her, which obviously frustrated them to no end.

I spent most of my time over at La Push with Charlie being distracted from hunting wolves by Billy and Harry Clearwater. I thanked them both for keeping Charlie away from any of the possible carnage that was going on. I was also assured that the wolves would be safe from the hunters as I was told that they could hear and smell them out from miles away.

That didn't do much to comfort me since I worried about what Victoria would do to them.

I tried to spend a day at Emily's house, which served as the Command Center for the wolf pack. All she did was mostly cook for the guys since they'd always come back starving from their hunts. Did it seem a little sexist, yes, but she was happy to play her part in helping them out. Even if it was only something as insignificant as making sure that they were fed.

But even that proved too much for me once Sam came home. The way that Emily and Sam behaved when there were together was just too much for me a handle so I didn't last longer than a day. I couldn't since I just couldn't deal with being around a couple so blindly in love with each other. Even though that I now knew, thanks to Jacob, that it was Sam who gave Emily those scars. He had lost control one day and attack her as a wolf, leaving her horribly disfigured for the rest of her life. I still couldn't understand how she could forgive him and love him so, but I had to give them both the benefit of the doubt. Sam always looked so horribly ashamed of himself for losing it, losing control over a power that he had no full control over. I felt bad for them both, wondering if they'd ever find a way to move on from the scars of their past.

That wasn't all that was bothering me though. One of the bigger issues was the fact that I was in hiding again. My last Spring Break was spent running away from James, only to get torn into shreds at the end. This year, I was hiding from Victoria to avoid being torn into shreds. I was praying to all the higher powers out there that this was going to be a constant cycle for me. I don't know if I could deal with another year of this supernatural nightmare.

Then there was my second issue and that issue was none as Jacob Black.

Charlie and I were spending the night at the Blacks' house. We were there eating some special fish that Sue Clearwater had made for Billy and Jacob with there being plenty for Charlie and myself as well. We ate together as civilized as could be expected. Charlie was still a little shaky about me suddenly forgiving Jacob and was trying to reforge his friendship with Billy. Even Billy had seemed to warm up to me at this point, but everything was still rocky between all of us.

When Charlie and Billy had went to bed, Jacob and I snuck back out to the garage. We sat in the backseat of the Rabbit; I was very much amazed that Jacob could even fit in the car at this point. I sat beside him with my head resting against his chest while his was wrapped around me. I don't know why, but we had a pillow and a blanket in the back with us. Jacob said that the rabbit was actually roomier then his bed so he'd sleep here from time to time.

We spent most of the night just talking, while internally I battled my thoughts about Jacob. He was so sweet and so wonderful and just made me feel so much better about everything. But I didn't want to drag him into my world of misfortune. Hell, I wasn't even sure what I was. Who was to say that a hunter of whatever I am doesn't pop up in the future and kills Jacob for being connected to me.

Ugh, why did I always turn to that worst case scenario? Why was I so afraid to allow myself any time of happiness with someone that I so desperately cared about? It wasn't this bad with Edward...at least not until he left. There were still so many scars left over from when Edward left me that I wasn't sure if I'd ever recover from them.

Then there was poor Jacob, so patient and loving. He deserved someone far better than me. I would only hold him back and make his life miserable.

Jacob never seemed to believe that though. No matter how hard I tried to convince him that it would be better if he just left me and never spoke to me again. "When I first changed, it was terrible," Jacob said, suddenly to me. "Sam was there to help and so were the others. I don't know what I would've done without their support. It was Billy's fault that I changed in the first place. When we got back from the movies, he said that I looked different and I don't know why that made me so angry, but it did and triggered my transformation. I nearly killed my own dad!"

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked Jacob.

"There's a point, hold on. You see, the change was easier for me then it was with the others. It wasn't because I had more people to support me, it's because of my blood," Jacob said, sternly. "The power has been passed down my family through generations. I even had direct family members who married into other members of their packs. There is so much wolf blood in my system that I'm not even sure if I'm more human than wolf. Sometimes, I feel like more like a wolf, that I'm just a freak of nature, a monster."

"You're not a monster though," I said to Jacob. I got on my knees with my head sliding down to rest on his leg. "You're the sweetest guy I know."

"And you're amazing too," Jacob said, smoothly. "I know you don't trust yourself to be in love, but weren't you the one who quoted Shakespeare and said that 'it's better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all'? Even if it doesn't work between us, would you rather be alone and wondering what could've been or would you say that you at least tried to make things work?"

"I guess we're just both pathetic," I said, removing my hand from his leg. "We should probably get back inside."

He snatched my hand though, which surprised me with the gentle strength that he used. He leaned in closer to me so that our lips were but an inch away from each other. "Please Rio," he begged, sweetly, "give me a chance. Let me take the pain away."

"Jake," I whispered with my skin suddenly burning.

I couldn't even say yes or no. Too many emotions and thoughts were running ramped in my head to do anything at all. So Jacob did the work as he pressed his lips against mine. We kissed for the second time and it felt far more amazing then the first. Our first kiss felt more like a goodbye to what could've been. This one though felt like I was on fire. There were so many different sensations that were running all over my body that I suddenly just gave up.

The kiss made my heard pound rapidly against my chest. It was similar to our first one, I saw the fireworks exploding across my mind. But it was far more than that. It just felt too wonderful for me to even attempt to describe. I just gave up to Jacob and wrapped my arms around his neck as I positioned myself to sit on top of his lap.

Jacob responded to this as well. His hands found their way to my waist, holding me there as his warm lips pressed themselves against mine. Our mouths slowly began to open, tongues sliding into unfamiliar territory between the two of us. My body was exploding everytime our kiss grew deeper and stronger.

It wasn't long though that I finally had enough. I felt stronger, my heart didn't feel so fragile any longer. Jacob was right, I shouldn't be so afraid to try to open myself up to someone else again.

I pulled the shirt I was wearing over my head, tossing it over to the front seats. I leaned back to Jacob, rubbing our smooth chests against each other. His round, powerful muscles felt so sensational against my body that I couldn't put it to words. I continued to kiss Jacob, feel like I was burning as I rubbed my body against his.

Suddenly, Jacob spun us around so that he was now on top. I was laying flat on my back, legs now wrapped around his waist, and a beautiful smile plastered on his face. He lean down and began to kiss my neck, sucking on it gently with his tongue rubbing against that spot. I felt myself shaking underneath him as he did this, I scratched away at his back, digging my nails into them.

He finally pulled away, his face only a few more inches away from me. "Rio, are you sure about this?" he asked me. "We're taking this a little fast. Umm…I don't even know. Well, I'm a virgin so you really sure about this?"

I smiled at him, not too surprised that he was a virgin. From what I heard from Quil and Embry, Jacob was pinning over me for a while. I just hoped that he was going to ask me about my sexual experiences. "I'm willing if you are, Jacob," I said, leaning up to him. "Besides, I can't take this tension any longer."

"Neither can I," he said, returning to my lips.

We kept kissing for a while, our arms wrapped over each other as we got closer. I felt so close to Jacob at this point that I was ashamed of myself for not giving in sooner. Being with Jacob felt so amazing, so special that I would've never had to feel any pain again.

I struggled to unbutton my jeans, fighting with the buttons to break free. Jacob helped though since this was a bit of a cramped space for the both of us. It didn't help that he was such a giant, but it made us both laugh as we fought to get naked. Jacob unzipped me from my jeans and yanked off my underwear in the process. I kicked off my shows to make it easier while he did the same with the new ones I bought him from the store.

Jacob quickly yanked off his shorts and his boxers before returning his warm body to mind. He fished the blanket from the front seat, moving it around so that it was underneath us both. I was amazed by his as he easily kept us both up with my limbs wrapped around him as he fixed the blanket. We stayed look at each other, both wearing smiles on our faces as he dropped me back onto the blanket and pillow.

We kissed some more with our full erections rubbing against each other. I felt significantly small against the body of Jacob Black in more ways than one. Even though he was younger than me, the sheer size of his body towered over mine. I was frail and skinny, while he was big and muscular. Then you had the large tool he carried between his legs. I got a glimpse of it and I could feel it rubbing against mine. I was barely six, but if I had to guess, I'd say he be at ten and pretty damn thick. My ass tensed up with frightful anticipation of the main event.

Jacob spun us around again so that I was now on top. We kissed for a few more moments until I finally decided to stop it. I pulled myself away from his lips long enough to get a look at him. He was damn perfect, equal to what I remembered of Edward in every way yet vastly different. They were both perfect specimens of masculinity, while I was far from it. I was a shame, an ugly mess.

"You're beautiful," Jacob said as the thoughts reared across my mind. His hand ran down the small treasure trail I had growing around my chest. I quivered for a moment as his warm hand touched my penis, the back of his hands rubbing against my pubic hair as he easily wrapped himself around me. I moaned softly as I did the same to him though I barely managed to wrap my hand around his dick as the back of my wrist grazed against his own dark, pubic hair.

We both began to moan at that point from the mutual masturbation. I was leaning against Jacob's body, my back against the seat, while Jacob laid underneath. Soon our lips found our way to each other, kissing as we shared the sensitive portions of each other's body. The session ended soon enough though, neither one of us wanting to cum before it was too late.

I found myself back on my back with Jacob towering over me. He wasn't too sure about this part, I could tell. I had to explain to him how to prep someone for anal sex, especially since his dick was about the size of an arm. So I sucked on his fingers for a moment before letting him find his way inside my ass. I moan painfully as the first finger intruded inside of me. He didn't move it though, afraid he was hurting me though as I adjusted to the pain. Slowly, he put a second finger inside me, which I knew was enough considering his hand was huge. He gently used his two fingers to stretch me, preparing me for what was about to come next. It hurt at first, but soon enough I got used to it where I was beginning to beg for more.

That part ended soon enough though, despite the wild amounts of pre-cum leaking out of my dick. I picked myself up so that we were both kneeling at each other. I kissed Jacob, pushing him back gently before crawling down to prepare his dick next. I looked at its massive size for a moment before taking it in my mouth, making Jacob moan with powerful lust. I used all the saliva and tongue I had to lube him up so that it wouldn't hurt so much for me. I pulled the foreskin back, lapping away at it for a moment before pulling away.

I got back on my back with Jacob now between my legs. He gave out a deep breath as he took hold of himself and gently eased himself inside of me. I felt the sharpest pain yet pushing its way inside of me as I clung onto the seats for support. My teeth clamped together and eyes sealed tied as I tried to breathe through the pain. Jacob was constantly apologizing, saying that he would pull out, but I stopped him everytime.

It took about two minutes for me to get used to the size of it all. I nodded my head once I felt the pain being numbed out. And no long before Jacob gave his first thrust was I seeing stars. Waves of pleasure began to shoot up my sign to hit me with a euphoric shot of peace. I moan loudly as Jacob thrust inside of me, both of us crying out with pleasure.

Jacob kept pushing his way deeper inside of me, hitting me with pleasure each time as he did so. I was crying helplessly as a boy three times my size ripped my insides out. But it felt so good that I didn't care as I clung onto him for support. I could feel Jacob's muscles tensing up and he too was beginning to shake. I knew he was about to cum and that he wouldn't be able to hold it much longer, especially since he was virgin.

So only a few minutes after it began, Jacob gave out a pleasurable gasp. I soon felt his dick growing in twice its size as warm jets entered my body, making me feel vastly complete. It felt like Jacob would never stop as he stood completely still as he emptied his seed inside of me. I was too busy jerking myself up, still feeling the pleasure of the sex to care. Soon enough, I came all over myself once Jacob was done cumming.

Jacob collapsed completely on top of me. My stick mess soon drying up between us, while he remained inside of me. "Wow," he said, deeply. "I'm sorry that I didn't last longer. That was just…too much for me."

"You were a virgin, Jacob," I said, kissing his cheek. "It was perfect in my eyes."

He smirked at me, kissing me back before sleep soon took us both over and we fell asleep in the car.

Despite the euphoric bliss that I went to sleep with, when morning came it was gone. Jacob was already out hunting down Victoria so I was left completely alone as I scrambled to get together my clothes. I got dressed and went back inside Billy's house, who was too distracted watching TV to pay attention to me walking inside. At least, he pretended to be too distracted. You never know with all that secrets that the man was keeping.

So I spent that day in Billy's house, quickly losing the limp I got from Jacob. I tried to finish homework that I got assigned over the break and prepare for exams, but there was only so much of Calculus that I could stand before getting completely frustrated. I tossed my books aside and slammed my face down on the tiny kitchen table that they had, unable to deal anymore.

Yes, I felt tremendously better all thanks to Jacob. He made me feel complete once more, masking away all the pain I had from the scars that Edward left behind. Did this mean that I had completely moved on from him? That was still open for debate. I wanted to say yes, I wanted to desperately say that I had no feelings left, but that would be a lie

You always remember your first love.

I tried to get rid of all thoughts of him. It didn't matter if I still loved Edward because I would never see his face again. He was no longer a part of my life, Jacob was. The wonderful and amazing Jacob was there for me, he was there for me.

That didn't help the separation anxiety I felt for that day and the following one. I couldn't take all the nightmares I had of losing Jacob, while he was away hunting Victoria. Then I was trapped in Billy's house, which is where I'd spend my waking day worrying myself to death over him. It was so insanely frustrating for me, being so wrapped up in all of this but so powerless to do anything about it.

I was nothing more than an annoying damsel in distress.

When evening finally came, Jacob finally returned from the hunt. I sighed with great relief to see that he was alright as I ran over to him, hugging him to death. Billy was in the kitchen and Charlie had yet to show up so I wasn't so afraid to show affection. I knew Charlie wouldn't be exactly pleased with my relationship with Jacob and I had no idea where Billy stood on the whole gay thing.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. "What about the others?"

"No sign of her today," Jacob said, calmly. "We chased her to the Canadian border yesterday, Sam thought she'd be back already. She was a no show though, so I guess we scared her off for now."

"That's good, it's something," I said, making my way over to the sofa.

Jacob nodded his head before taking a good look at me. I didn't know what he saw because he suddenly began to frown as he went over to me, getting down on his knees as he kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry, I should've realized how miserable you were sooner. I don't you think that I'm a crummy guy who just used you to have sex," he said, sounding disappointed with himself. "I bet you're having a lousy vacation."

"At least I'm not dying yet," I said, remembering last spring.

"You won't be dying at all this time!" he said. His words screamed a strong promise that I hope he was able to keep. I didn't want to almost die again, considering just how painful it was. He suddenly seemed a lot more cheerful as he sprang back up to his feet. "Hey, I have an idea for what we could do tomorrow. We can go cliff-diving! Today was freezing, but I can feel that it's going to be a lot warmer tomorrow. Even your skinny bones will be able to tolerate it! So, what do you think?"

"Deal," I said, smiling as I nodded my head.

We spent the rest of the night laughing and talking. I told Charlie that I was going to spend the night again and he seemed to go for it. When he was leaving, Jacob whispered to me that the others would be watching him for the night while he stayed with me. I thanked Jacob for being one step ahead of me before we snuck off to the garage again.

This time, we only went to sleep, there was no sex involved at all. Well, we were both naked since it was a lot more comfortable that way. Besides with Jacob radiating all of that heat, it felt like I was trapped in a sauna with all of my clothes on. We peacefully went to sleep with Jacob holding me close as I managed to have a night where there were no nightmares.

But when morning came, Jacob was gone once more. I tried not to think too much of this as I got dressed and went to the house. Billy was in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal. He told me that Jacob left early in the morning because Jared and Embry spotted Victoria in the area. Now all the wolves were hunting her down, trying to either chase her away again or destroy her.

I clenched my chest, afraid of what could happen to Jacob and the others. Billy tried to assure me that they would all be safe with each other, but that dream I had of Victoria begged to differ. I did all I could to calm myself down as I ate a bowl of cereal with Billy.

Once I finished breakfast and cleared the bowls, I decided that I just couldn't take it any longer.

I told Billy I was going to the beach for the day. He seemed okay with it so I had no trouble at all escaping with the Beast. I drove further then the beach though, deciding to go over to the cliffs that Jacob had promise to take me to today. I got out, feeling that it was a lot warmer like Jacob had promised as I wandered higher up.

I sat down away from the edge, looking out to the ocean ahead of me. The Pacific looked beautiful and calm for a change as I stared out to its depths. That didn't calm the worry I had for the wolves though. If Victoria was back then I knew that could only mean no good at all. I was terrified that something horrible would happen to the wolves, to Jacob, all because of me. The right thing to do would be for me to hand myself over and accept death the honorable way to keep everyone else safe.

But I knew that it was something that no one would allow to happen.

I gave out a heavy sigh as I clung onto my chest, feeling a sharp pain in my heart. It wasn't like all the heartbreaking pains I had from before. This was something far different than that. I stood up and turned my head around, the pain in my heart growing stronger as I did so. I felt something terribly off as I looked deeper into the woods, trying to see what was wrong.

"Run away!" I suddenly heard Edward's voice once more. He appeared by the truck, tapping on the hood as he gained my attention. "Get in the truck and drive!"

"Why?" I asked, softly.

"Because she's coming." My higher power appeared beside me, grabbing hold of my arm. I suddenly felt something ancient and powerful, which I knew was what the glowing man was. I still couldn't see him clearly, but I knew that he was something to be respected and feared. "The vampire knows you're here! She is coming for you."

"What should I do?" I asked the higher power. "Do I fight her like I did James?"

"No!" the higher power said. "You need to jump. It's the only way you'll escape her. The water will protect you."

The higher power and Edward both disappeared at that point. I turned my head back to the woods, my visions suddenly becoming stronger as I saw her! I saw Victoria with her eyes glowing red and tight clothing covering her being. She was dressed to kill and the hunger in her eyes spoke a fury that Hell hath no.

I suddenly turned my head back to the cliff, thinking about it for not even a second. I already sprang into a quick sprint as I remembered what I heard about cliff diving. As I reached the edge, I sprang about as high as I could and began to plummet down to the depths with my arms spread apart.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, both from fear and joy of the experience. Gravity was quickly pulling me down to the water until I crashed, positioning myself to break the water as I had been told. I made it into the water, feeling the cold rush attack me as I did so.

I struggled to fight my way to the surface, making it without much trouble. I gasped with joy as I turned myself to the shore, swimming against the current as I did so. However, things didn't end well for me as I swam. I heard the water rushing towards me before a great wave of water crashed into me. I was barely about to recover from having the air knocked out of me when another wave crashed into me.

I went under at that point with no control was the water spun me around with its might fury.

I fought to try and find a way to the surface, but I was too confused to find my way up. There was no gravity to guide me in the depths of the water and there was no light bright enough to help. I tried to push my way up in what I thought was the right direction, but had no luck as I felt the current tossing me around again.

"Don't give up, Rio!" I heard Edward call out from the water.

I had no clue where to go though. I didn't know which way was up and I was quickly running out of air! I needed help. I needed someone to help me! Higher power, come out and point me to the right direction.

"Take my hand!"

I tilted my head up to see the glowing man above me. I tried to reach out to him, trying to grab the hand he was holding out to me. My hand was so close to his as I swam higher up, but my help came too late. My lungs were already burning for the desperate need for air. I couldn't fight the inevitable any longer. The last of the air I had escaped me just as my fingertips grazed against the higher power's hand.

I felt myself sinking deeper into the ocean as two thoughts escaped me.

Goodbye Jacob and Edward…

I love you both…


	9. New Moon IV

Author's Note: Well, this one is a bit shorter compared to the last one, but I do dig a little deeper into something. Anyways...I hope you like this one because there's only one more chapter till I'm done with New Moon. Then I can begin Eclipse! WOOOO! So enjoy the chapter. Read and review!

**Paris:**

_I felt like I was floating into an endless abyss like the last time I died. Wait, was I really dead again? I guess I really was starting up a tradition by getting chased by a vampire every Spring Break until they led to my death. Great, that's just great. Now how am I supposed to get back home? My higher power failed to help me out when it came to giving me a road map to cheating death._

_So I just sighed as I fell deeper into the abyss until I felt a pair of arms around me. Every part of my body felt like it was freaking out as strong arms pulled me out. I opened my eyes to see a woman with long, blonde hair flowing behind her with golden armor covering her body._

"_It's not your time, little one," said the woman. "You are not meant for Valhalla, yet. Midgar is your home."_

"_What are you?" I asked, softly._

"_Your people call me a Valkyrie." The Valkyrie looked out to the endless abyss in front of us as a bridge slowly began to form. She helped me up to my feet and guided me down the bridge until we reached a vast ocean. "It is time for you to return to Midgar. The Realm of Asgard is not for you, little one."_

_I turned to the Valkyrie for a moment when she pressed a kiss on my lips. I felt my veins burn with a sudden surge of warmth, not of the sexual kind but of life. It felt like a jolt of electricity was racing through me with the Valkyrie disappearing from sight as the ocean rose up to swallow me whole. _

"Breathe, Rio! For the love of God breathe!"

There was something heavy pressing against my chest that felt like it weighed a ton. Actually, it felt more like someone was trying to crush my lungs which made it harder to breathe. Wait no, that wasn't true either. There was something else in my lungs, blocking the flow of air from reaching me.

Why was this person trying to kill me? Wait, this person couldn't be trying to kill me. I had jumped off the cliff, I was getting pulled under the current, and then I was like dying before getting told to go back to Midgar by a Valkyrie. That's what really happened so did that mean I was back home on Earth?

I felt the pain in my chest grow stronger until I finally felt the urge to cough. My eyes pushed themselves opened and I lifted myself from the sand underneath me, spewing out the water that was stuck in my chest. I coughed heavily with my body fighting to expel all the water that was trapped in my lungs. Once it was all out, I began to pay attention to my surroundings and saw that I was back on the shore.

There was sand all over my clothes and on the exposed part of my skin. The sand was the least of my concern though as I felt freezing cold with all the water that my skin had absorbed. I finally looked around and saw Jacob hovering over me with a look of grief in his eyes. Sam was behind him too, looking equally worried with something else in his eyes too that alarmed me.

"Rio," Jacob said, a painfully cry getting stuck in his throat. "Rio, I thought I lost you there."

I wanted to laugh and say something sarcastic, but I couldn't do that too poor Jacob. He looked so terrified at the prospect of losing me. I needed to be a little more considerate to him, especially since he's the one who rescued me from dying. "Sorry for worrying you," I said, weakly. "I just needed to get away from Victoria. She was getting too close, I had to jump."

"You shouldn't have put yourself in that kind of danger in the first place!" Jacob said, wrapping his warm body around me. I found myself caving in against Jacob's chest, squeezing him back in order to gain some of his warmth.

Sam was still with us until he finally said something about going to the hospital before leaving. I couldn't quite catch that part because I was too busy freezing to death to really pay attention. I just continued to cling onto Jacob with him talking about taking me back to his place. The truck was already there, which surprised me since it was supposed to be one the cliff.

Jacob carried me to my truck, dropping me inside the passenger seat as he drove us back to his home. I continued to cling onto Jacob with my body craving his warmth after my hundredth near death experience. At least this one wasn't as painful as the last one. Granted, I was a lot closer to dying this time then the last time. It was too weird and I didn't really want to think about it. I was just happy to be back with Jacob now.

"Victoria found you?" Jacob asked, breaking out silence. "How did you know she was coming after you though? And why would you go into the water? Bloodsuckers have the advantage in the water since they can fight the current and don't need to breathe."

"My higher power spoke to me," I said, softly. "Maybe he thought it would be too hard for her to track me in the water."

"I'm beginning to think that your higher power isn't so high after all," said Jacob. "I'm beginning to think that he's just a hallucination for you."

"Are you questioning the nature of my supernatural abilities?" I asked. "He is real, Jacob, and he is ancient. Today, I actually went to a higher plane. I went to Asgard."

"What's Asgard?" asked Jacob.

"That's where the Norse Gods live," I said, softly. "I went to the gods' realm only to be told it wasn't my time yet and that I needed to come back here."

Jacob just sighed as he kept on driving down the road. His heavy arm was wrapped around me, warming up my body as my clothes stuck to my skin. It was beginning to feel very uncomfortable when he thankfully reached the driveway of his home.

We left the truck, no longer talking about Victoria or gods as we reached the door. Jacob escorted me inside and told me to take a shower while he went to get me something else to wear. I complied as I walked over to their small restroom and stripped out of my clothes before jumping into a very warm shower. With the hot water pounding against my back, I gave out a sigh of relief to still be alive from today's drowning incident.

The sand and salt was just beginning to run down the drain when the curtain was pulled open. I turned my head back to see a very naked Jacob coming in from behind me. His hands soon found their way around my waist, pulling me against him until my back was against his chest. He soon began to kiss my neck as the hot water cascaded against my body, making tingles run down my bones.

"Jacob," I whispered, softly, "don't stop."

He did stop though, turning me around slowly so that we were now facing each other. His eyes were still speaking pain and sorrow, which broke my heart as I clung against him. "You really did scare me," he whispered to me. "I thought I lost you when I saw your truck there and no sign of you. Sam and I were lucky to find you, I was lucky to revive you with CPR. I was lucky that I could at least save you."

"What do you mean, Jake?" I asked him. "Did something else happen? Did Victoria hurt one of you?"

"No," Jacob said, weakly. "At least, I don't know if she did." He sighed as he pulled me closer to him until it felt like we were one person. I held onto him, terrified of what may have happened, but partly relieved that it was none of the wolf boys that got hurt. "Rio, its Harry. He had a heart attack and he's in the hospital right now. The doctors aren't' sure if he'll make it."

"Oh God," I said, thinking about Harry and his family. "I'm so sorry, Jacob."

"It's not your fault," he whispered, kissing my cheek. "Come on; let's get you out of here."

Jacob turned off the water and got a towel for us to share. I took it first, quickly drying myself off so that I could give it back to him. By the time I finished drying off my wet body, his abnormally hot skin managed to dry him most of the way. He took the towel to get rid of whatever water was left on him before handing over some new clothes for me to wear.

I took Jacob's clothes, putting on the outrageously big outfits on. I was trapped drowning in his massive t-shirt, which smelt oddly seductive to me with me snagging a pair of his boxers as well. It was all the big on me, but it was something to wear at least. Jacob wore no shirt, but had a pair of boxers and shorts on to cover him up.

By now, I wasn't surprised by Jacob's lack of clothing. I found it quite appealing actually since I got to look at his hot body without any guilt. Except for today, I felt guilty about Jacob's sorrow for nearly getting myself killed and poor Harry. What if the reason he had a heart attack was because of Victoria? If that was true then anything that happened to him would be my fault! I would be responsible for whatever happened to him, I'd be responsible if he died.

I clung onto Jacob's hand as he used his free hand to hold my waist as he guided me into the living room. We went over to the couch with Jacob mumbling about us needing to go to sleep. I didn't want to argue with that one since I felt horribly exhausted from almost dying. Jacob collapsed onto the couch and I crawled on top of him with his hands finding their way around my body.

In less than a minute, I heard Jacob snoring lightly as I struggled to stay awake any longer. My thoughts were lost about the "last" words I had before nearly dying. I said goodbye to Jacob and Edward before saying that I loved them both. There were so many things wrong with me that I just couldn't set myself straight at this point.

Yes, I was still in love with Edward even though I knew he was gone and never coming back. He left me heartbroken and alone until Jacob came along to make all of that better. Jacob saved me from my heartache and almost gave me back my faith in love. But I couldn't help to find myself still loving Edward, while I was in love with Jacob.

What would've Juliet done if she actually loved Paris? We all know how obsessed she was over Romeo, but what if when Romeo left that he made it clear he would never come back for Juliet. For starters, they wouldn't have died, but what about Juliet? Would she have been like me and become a mindless zombie or would that only have led to her own self-destruction? And what if she did care for Paris, would it have been possible that she could've moved on with Paris?

Why was I even having this weird thought?

Edward was never coming back into my life, I might as well get used to being with Jacob. No, that bit sounded so wrong. It sounded like Jacob was my punishment when he wasn't. Jacob deserved a lot better than me. Jacob is too much of a loving kind of guy; he deserves somebody better like a woman who could give him a real family. Not a boy who is a walking disaster magnet and constantly getting dragged around by supernatural forces.

I gave up on that as I completely succumbed to my needs for sleep. My mind went to a state of rest as I drifted off into a light sleep. I was still partly aware of everything and where I was, but I felt my body resting and recovering from everything that had happened.

When I finally woke up late that following afternoon, I lifted my head up and saw Jacob watching me as I slept. I began to smile softly as I straightened myself up, wishing I could fix the nasty curls in my hair. Jacob only leaned over to me, kissing me for a long moment when we heard the engine to a car coming near. We parted ways and saw Billy coming from the living room window with a sorrowful look on his face.

"Dad," Jacob said as Billy came to the door.

"Hi boys," Billy said with his voice cracking horribly.

Jacob immediately took action as he got up from the couch and went over to his father. The look on Billy's face said it all. Jacob dropped to his knees, looking horribly sad as Billy fought the urge not to cry. I knew right away that Harry didn't make it and it made me feel horrible that I could've possibly been involved with his untimely death.

Billy talked about going back later to help arrange the funeral. Right now, Charlie was still at the hospital to help Sue with the funeral arrangements. I didn't even want to think about what could be going on with poor Sue, Leah, and Seth. I knew that Harry's family would be heartbroken right now, completely devastated by the loss of a husband and father. It made my heart ache for them as I thought about what it would feel like if it had been Charlie.

While I continued to sit on the couch, Billy went to his room to change. I went over to Jacob and hugged him tightly for a moment. He held me close like he didn't want to let me go, not even for a second.

"I should get you home," Jacob whispered into my hair. "You don't have anything to wear."

"Your clothes are good," I said against his chest. "It would be nice though to wear something that actually fit."

I felt him cracking a smile and a light chuckle escape his chest. I tried to smile with him, but I found that to be a little difficult considering the moment. Jacob returned to his bedroom though to put on some proper clothes, while I continued to run around in just his shirt and underwear. Nobody would notice though. His shirt was twice my size so it covered me down to my knees.

I followed Jacob to my truck with him deciding to drive again. I chuckled with the way that he took charge, I guess my role was to be a little more submissive to Jacob. And before I even knew it, we were already back in Forks and a few minutes away from my house.

Jacob and I talked for a little while. Most of our trip was filled with silence until we made it to Forks and that's when Jacob decided to get a little more talkative. He talked about Harry and how great of a guy he was, actually, about how great they all were. The Clearwaters had always been there for Jacob and Billy especially since his mother, Sarah, passed on when he just a kid. Rachel and Rebecca took off the first chance they got, barely showing themselves around La Push since.

We stayed away from that topic for the sake of not bringing back anymore bad memories. I sighed softly as Jacob got closer to my house before coming to an abrupt stop without any warning at all. I thought that he saw something or that there was possibly something in the middle of the road. Jacob was just frozen though, mumbling about something as he clenched the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

"What's wrong?" I asked Jacob.

"Vampire," he said, looking up to my house.

My veins began to freeze as I realized what he meant. He could sense/smell a vampire in my house, which could possibly mean that Victoria was there. I swallowed down my fear and glanced at my house to see if there was anything to give her away. But all I saw was a black Mercedes parked in the curb with a very familiar license plate on it.

I gasped with shock as I leaned in close to be certain. There was no denying it though; I knew exactly who that car belonged too as a smile formed on my face. "Carlisle!" I nearly screamed. "That's Carlisle's car."

Without thinking, I was about to break out of the truck when Jacob grabbed onto my wrist. He pulled me back and started the engine again before turning around. "It's a trap, Rio!" he said, strongly. "You haven't seen the Cullens in months. It's probably a sick trick put on by that red head bitch!"

"No, Jacob," I said, turning my head back. "I know that car. It belongs to Carlisle, he's here!"

"Why are you torturing yourself over this?" Jacob shouted. "Did you forget what they did to you? They abandoned you, Rio. They're all just filthy bloodsuckers, you're better off without them!"

"Jacob just stop the car!" I cried out to him. "Please, I know it's him! Carlisle would never hurt anyone."

Jacob just slammed on the breaks as he pushed the door open. He jumped out of the truck and I instinctively ran out to chase go after him. He was walking fast though, ripping his shirt off and taking his shoes off. "You're only fooling yourself, Rio!" he said, angrily. "They don't care about you, not like I do. Don't expect me to be there for you when the bloodsuckers kill you!"

I flinched as he left me standing still like a fool. Every hopeful thought I had of Jacob was ripped away from me as he stripped out of his shorts. I turned away as I felt something in the air before seeing Jacob as a wolf, running into the woods without hesitating.

I placed my hand over my chest, feeling just horrible about this. I could only wish that this was all just temporary. I didn't want Jacob to hate me or not want to be around me, but I just needed to see Carlisle. I needed to have this reassurance that this was all real and that I wasn't left in a hallucination. But I could barely stand knowing that Jacob wanted nothing to do with me, it hurt me a lot.

So I went back to my truck and drove back to my house for my date with a vampire.

Please, please be Carlisle and not Victoria.

* * *

**Visitor:**

When I parked in the driveway and reached my front door, my hand was shaking as I braced myself for the very worst. I was terrified if Jacob was right and this was all just a horrible trap devised by Victoria. But I was positive that this was Carlisle's car, which meant that he had to be here. I didn't even want to get my hopes up that it was really Edward, I had moved on from the possibility.

The key slid in without any difficulty and I turned the knob to embrace my fate.

Once I made it inside the house and flipped on the light switch, I found someone immediately standing in front of me. All my fears of Victoria fluttered away as I stared at her petite frame, short black hair, and warm hazel eyes. It wasn't Carlisle like I had thought it would, but this was even better then I could've hoped. Without even the slightest bit of hesitation, I lunged at her and wrapped my arms so tightly around her cold, marble body.

"Alice!" I screamed cheerfully. "Alice, you're really here. You have no idea how much I missed you."

I pulled away from Alice, finally taking note of her eyes. She looked shocked to see me and I took notice of her hands trembling a little. She took a step towards me, touching my cheek with the utmost of care. "How is that possible?" she whispered, softly. She took her hand away and stepped back with a furious look growing on her face. "Rio, can you explain to me how you're still alive! I saw you jumping from a damn cliff! You tried to kill yourself."

I could only shake my head at her though since she was far from knowing the truth. It was time that I dropped my bombshell so that she could see how big of a mistake leaving was. "I wasn't intentionally trying to kill myself," I said to her. "It was because of Victoria. She's back and wants me dead."

The way her eyes widened was all that needed to be said. She took my wrist and dragged me to the couch, begging me to explain every single detail that's happened since they left. As happy as I was to be with Alice again, I wasn't sure if I could so openly tell her everything. Should I omit the part about the wolves? No, I'm sure she knew about their existence anyways. Jacob did mention that werewolves and vampires were mortal enemies.

So I told her everything, deciding to skip over my zombie months since they seemed the least important. I kept it simple though by saying I did go to a bad place after they left. Then I focused more on how Jacob helped me get back to reality before saying how I wandered off to the meadow on my own where Laurent found me. I told her about his warning and how he was going to kill me until werewolves showed up to save me.

Alice knew about the Quileute people and their abilities so that didn't seem to surprise her. She was more surprised to see that they didn't try to eat me in the process. I did mention how I fought Laurent to earn me some cool points. I blurred Jacob's part in all of this, for now, focusing on how Victoria was coming after me on the cliff.

"I jumped to get away from her," I told her. "There was no other way for me to outrun her in time. It was the only way." I gave out a weak sigh before looking away from my fingers to face her. Now it was time to say the harder part. "I did die though." That really got Alice's attention. "It was only for a little bit though. I met a Valkyrie though and she told me it wasn't my time before sending me back here. My friend Jacob was the one who saved me, he brought me back with CPR."

"Then you came back here?" Alice asked. "You weren't alone though. I heard you arguing with someone, but I couldn't quite here it that well." She took a moment to pause before leaning towards me and took a sniff from Jacob's shirt. The repulsed look said enough as she turned away, shaking her head with disgust. "Can you explain to me why you smell like dog?"

"I was with Jacob Black," I told her, "and he probably smells like dog to you because he's a werewolf."

Alice's eyes nearly burst out from her skull. I think my announcing that Jacob was a werewolf affected her more than telling her that Victoria was after me. She practically jumped out of her seat, holding back the urge to yell at me from the look on her face. "Dear God, Rio!" she said, walking away from me. She made her way to the fireplace, shaking her head before looking back. "You're hanging around a werewolf and a pubescent one at that! Do you have any idea how dangerous a werewolf is, especially a young one? What are you thinking?"

"They say the same thing about you," I said, softly. "Besides, you guys left me alone, knowing damn well that Victoria might come back to exact her revenge on James!"

"We didn't know," Alice said, turning away. "I've been keeping my eyes on her though, but I never saw this happened. I don't know how she managed to keep away from my powers though; she's pretty good at tricking me. I won't let that happen again though. Ugh, I told Edward that this was stupid from the beginning. But he was so gung ho about letting you have a regular, human life. He seems to keep on forgetting that you're not all human, plus you're a walking disaster magnet for anything deadly!"

Despite the probable insult behind that, I couldn't help myself from smiling at Alice. Even when she was all flustered like this, I knew it was because she truly cared enough about me. "So are you staying here then?" I asked, smiling as I got up from the couch. "What about the others? What happened to them? Why did you come here on your own?"

"Edward is refusing us to have anything to do with you," said Alice. "Carlisle and Esme are willing to respect his wishes. I had to sneak away here on my own without telling anyone. It was the only way no one would try to stop me and I could be sure that you didn't make it. So, I guess we're not going to have any reinforcements for a while. At least not before telling everyone that Victoria is after you and that you're dating a werewolf."

"I'm not dating one," I said, softly.

"Please Rio," Alice said, smirking at me. "I can see it in your eyes. You really care about this Jacob and even turned away to the fact that he is a mutt. Do you really expect me to believe that you feel nothing at all for him?"

I could only sigh as I turned away from her, not wanting to give her an answer. Although, I already knew that my being nonresponsive was reason enough to make her know it was true. "Can you explain to me why you couldn't see Jacob or Victoria?" I asked her. "You saw me jump, but not Victoria coming after me or Jacob rescuing me."

"Well, I think it's because the fact that I don't know Jacob and that I don't know Victoria's mind well enough," she said. "My lack of knowledge on them is keeping me from tuning into them or it just could be something else entirely. I don't know how to explain it, Rio. Not even I fully understand how my visions work."

"Okay," I said, curling up into a little ball.

My stomach was beginning to rumble softly since I hadn't eaten in over a day. I was just beginning to straighten myself out and make my way over to the kitchen when my cell phone went off. I was originally expecting it to be Charlie until I saw the caller ID with Jacob's face on it.

"Jacob?" I said, answering the phone.

"Still alive then," he said, devoid of any emotion.

"Yeah," I said to him. "It was just Alice. She came here because she had a vision of me jumping."

"Fine. Bye."

The phone went dead at that point, leaving me feeling very disappointed with Jacob. I dropped my phone on the couch and made my way to the kitchen to fix myself something to eat. I tried not to think about Jacob and focus more on Alice being back, but it was hard. It was hard considering how much I cared about both of them, but Jacob was being such a hard ass and wanted to make things difficult for me.

Why couldn't I be friends with the Cullens? He knew that they were good vampires, that they weren't evil murderers. Why couldn't he just remember that and trust my judgment?

I tossed all thoughts of Jacob aside as I found some leftovers that hadn't went bad by now. I found some leftover pasta I made a while ago, which still smelt good so I threw that in the microwave with a second plate ready in case Charlie showed up.

I felt like collapsing against the counter though as the plate of food rotated around. I had dreamt of this for so long and I thought it would be so much easier, but today was just too horrible. This wasn't a very good day to be me.

Soon enough though, I felt Alice by my side with her hand reaching out to my shoulder. She squeezed it gently and had me turn around to face her. "This hasn't been easy on you," she said, while looking into my eyes. "Us leaving did way more harm than good, didn't it?" I only had a second to nod my head before she hugged me tight. "I told Edward that he was a dumbass. He didn't want to listen though; he really did think he was doing the right thing, in his defense."

"He should've been a little more selfish," I mumbled against her.

Alice chuckled at that one just as my food finished cooking. I got that plate out and placed Charlie's in there before I began to pick at mine. Despite being so starving, I just couldn't eat as much as I wanted to. I got about halfway done before feeling utterly full and unwilling to eat another bite.

I was just about to scrape off my remains when I heard the front door open up. Alice nodded her head at me, keeping her distance as I leaned over to see it was Charlie. He was hanging his coat on the hook and was making his way to the kitchen with a horrid look of depression on his face. Without hesitating, I walked over to Charlie and gave him a hug.

"I'm sorry about Harry, dad," I said, softly.

"I know, Rio," Charlie whispered. "I feel worse for Sue and the kids though. Leah is only a year older then you and poor Seth is barely fourteen. They're all going through hell right now and I don't know what to do to make it any easier on them."

"Life's just cruel that way," I said to him. "But there is one silver lining. Look whose back."

That was Alice's cue to step in. She glided out of the kitchen like a ballerina with a smile on her face as she made her way over to Charlie. "Hello, Chief Swan," said Alice.

"Alice?" Charlie said with much confusion. "Alice Cullen…" For a moment, I thought Alice killed my father with her good looks alone. But Charlie recovered and a light smile grew on her face as he made her way over towards her. "It's good to see you again. Is the rest of your family here?"

I knew he really wanted to know about Edward.

"Just me," Alice said.

"Is it okay if Alice stays with us for a little while?" I asked, interrupting the other questions brewing in Charlie's head.

"Sure," Charlie said, unsure of himself. "That is unless you have somewhere else to go, Alice."

"Thanks for the offer, I graciously accept," Alice said, while flopping down on the couch.

"Take my bed," I told her. "Guests need a bed, not a couch, right dad?"

"Right," Charlie said, agreeing with me. "Rio, you can steal my bed for the night. I can sleep on the couch."

"Alright then," I told him. "There's some food in the microwave if you're hungry. I'm going to go to sleep now. Night everyone."

Night Rio," Charlie and Alice said at the same time.

I climbed up the stairs and went into my father's room. It had been a long time since I was last in here, probably like seven. The room was pretty much the same, a little mess, the same furniture, and plenty of cop gear laying around in one corner. There was a small TV on the dresser that I heard Charlie listen to sometimes.

I flopped down on his bed, instantly being hit by the smell of his aftershave. I didn't mind it though since I was used to Charlie's smell by now. I grabbed one of the covers and began to drift off into a dreamless sleep for what felt like forever.

When morning finally caught up to me though, I gently pushed the covers off me and made my way downstairs to check on everyone. I had just reached the foot of the stairs when I heard talking coming from the living room. Alice and Charlie's voices were recognizable to me; I leaned in closer to hear just what they were talking about.

"How bad was he?" I heard Alice asked. "He was very vague when he said things were bad after we left."

"They were worse than bad, I'll tell you that," said Charlie. "Rio was like a zombie for the first couple of months. It was like he had lost his heart and soul; all that was left was a body. He ignored all of his friends, he barely did his school work, and he spent every night screaming from the constant nightmares. It finally got so bad that I called his mother to come get him. We both figured that Jacksonville would be better for him. I didn't want Rio to leave, but seeing him so miserable was just too horrible to watch. I thought Reneé could help him since they were always so close, but when we were packing up his stuff, Rio threw a violet tantrum. Rio was never one to throw a fit, but boy did all hell break loose. For the first time in months, he showed us emotion and downright refused to leave before trashing his entire bedroom."

"Wow," Alice said. "What else, Charlie? Rio mentioned something about Jacob."

"Yeah, Jacob Black," Charlie said, happily. "Jacob and Rio go way back. They always played together when they were little, and Jacob's sisters would babysit them while I went out with their parents. Jacob's a great kid, he is single-handedly taking care of his father, been that way since his mother passed away in a car accident and his sisters moved away. I owe a lot of thanks to Jacob; he saved my son from himself."

"That's incredible," Alice whispered.

"Alice," Charlie said, calmly, "is he coming back?"

"No," she said, softly. "Nobody even knows I'm here. I kept it a secret from everyone. Besides, last I heard from him, he was in Brazil."

"Good for him," I heard the bitterness in Charlie's voice.

At that point, I decided to make my presence known as I descended down the stairs. I came down to see Charlie fully dressed in a suit, looking better than I had seen him in years. At least in the dressed up sense, his face screamed misery and heartache. I felt horrible for Charlie since he lost a good friend and was now going to his funeral.

I complimented him about his sharpness before saying goodbye to him. Charlie left to La Push for the funeral, leaving me alone with Alice. She made a smart comment about my smell, which I realized was a cue for me to take a shower. I bid her farewell for a moment as I went back upstairs to take a well deserved shower.

When the water began to pound away at me, I thought about the last shower I had. Jacob was with me and everything just felt so right at that point. It was like all the pain I had was pushed away and I could finally experience something new. Now, all that was left was just a bunch of broken promises that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I went into my room to fish out something to wear. I grabbed a green, long-sleeve with this weird design on it that I still had no clue what it was and a pair of jeans. By the time I made it downstairs with my hair being a curly mess, I noticed Alice backing away from the front of the house. I followed her as she reached the back door, opening it before turning back to me.

"You have company," she said, simply. "I need to step out before this gets nasty. I don't want to test Wolf Boy's patience."

Alice left it at that, closing the door gently behind her. With her gone for only a second, I felt a dull emptiness in my chest. It hurt me to see her having to leave all because of Jacob. I had a feeling that this was going to become a repeated nightmare until either one of them gave up and left. Until then though, I would be stuck in the middle of the feud going on between vampires and werewolves.

As that thought raced across my mind, the doorbell began to ring.

* * *

**Funeral:**

Jacob was standing on the front pouch with his head down, obviously not wanting to look at me directly in the eye. I saw the Rabbit parked over his gigantic body with Jared and Embry's heads sticking out from the windows. I huffed at the since obviously Jacob's wolf brothers didn't trust him to be alone with me. But I trusted Jacob because I knew that he would never physically do anything to hurt me, now emotionally that was a different story. Jacob had a lot of growing up to do in that department to catch up with the rest of his body.

"Do you want to come in, Jacob?" I asked.

"Is the bloodsucker gone?" he said, bitterly.

I huffed at him, angry that he was already trying to start shit. It was too early in the morning to be bothered with all of that and way too much of a depressing day for it. "Goodbye Jacob," I said, slamming the door in his face. He caught the door though, holding it firmly so I couldn't shut it completely. I pulled it back open to see him looking up at me now with that damn puppy dog look on his face.

Jacob straightened himself up, releasing the door to keep himself from being so intimidating. Not that I was frightened by him. I knew with whatever supernatural abilities I had that I could take Jacob Black down a peg or two. "Is the Cullen gone?" he asked. "I can't remember who you said it was." His voice was still bitter, but he was making an effort to be a little more polite.

"Her name is Alice," I said, calmly. "And yeah, she's gone. She didn't want to start up anymore drama between us."

I pulled myself away from the front, stepping aside to invite Jacob into my house. He accepted the invitation and took a few steps inside with Jared and Embry shaking their heads before taking off in his car. I closed the door behind us, locking it up to make sure that there were no other unwanted guests that might try to break in.

When I turned back around, Jacob was standing in the middle of the living room to stare at the couch. The blankets and pillow that Charlie laid out for Alice were a complete mess to make it seem like she had been sleeping. The way Jacob was looking at it though made the air in the room turn a little sour as I saw his fists shake.

"Somebody was having a slumber party," he said with obvious distain in his voice.

I could only sigh at Jacob before walking away from him, moving over to the kitchen. I was kind of hungry and needed to at least a damn pop tart before I rolled over. "Look Jacob, if you're only here to start shit then you need to go," I said to him. "Listen closely, I don't care how much you hate the Cullens, but I still trust them. I know what they were trying to do was protect me from their world, but thanks to my own stupidity and bad luck, I got in too deep. So stop it right now! I love you all, if you can't accept that then you need to leave."

"It's not that easy, Rio," Jacob said, his voice vibrating against the walls. "They're my natural enemy, Rio! I will always hate them because being evil is in their nature."

"Jacob, you're a werewolf!" I reminded him for the hundredth time. I slammed the cupboard door short with the box of Pop Tarts dropping on the counter. I spun around to see Jacob by the doorway, myself fuming with a bit of anger. "You're just as much as a monster as they are. You and the Cullens are no different from each other. So get over your prejudice before you drive me away. I know you don't want that Jacob."

I turned away from him, not even wanting to look at his face for a moment. My hands were shaking as I pulled out the blueberry breakfast from the box when I felt Jacob's ungodly heat behind me. His hands found their way to my arms, holding them gently with his thumbs rubbing against the skin. I felt all the bad thoughts I had of him calm down enough where I could tolerate being around him again.

He pulled me towards him and soon enough I felt his head against my shoulder. I sighed before fighting to turn around so I can face him for myself. He raised his head, pressing it against my forehead as he continued to hold onto me by my arms.

"It looks like I broke my promise again," Jacob whispered to me. "I keep promising not to hurt you, but all I do is keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again." He kissed my forehead, which didn't do much to make me feel better about all of this. He finally pulled away from me though and took a seat on a chair that was much too small to support him. "It's hard, Rio. You know I can't just change how I feel about them overnight, especially since they hurt you so much."

"But your opinion isn't the one that matters in this case, Jake," I said, moving closer towards him. I sat down on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck as he placed his on my waist. "It matters what I think. I forgive the Cullens, maybe not Edward, but I forgive the rest of them. If the roles were reversed, wouldn't you have tried the same thing?"

"Probably," I heard Jacob mumbled against my chest.

"See?" I whispered to him. "You're not that different after all." I gently brushed his short hair back, running my fingers though his dark hair. I felt him smile against my chest as I did this, holding me closer to him without ever wanting to let go. I felt my own smile growing as I continued to hold onto Jacob, I didn't want to let him go either.

But that all seemed to change with a single ring.

The phone began to go off, which made me pull myself to freedom from Jacob. I was about halfway to the phone when Jacob popped up behind me, answering it for me. I knew he only meant this to tease me as he kept me back with a smile growing on his face. He picked the phone up and held it to his ear to greet the caller.

"Swan residence," he said, sweetly. I heard some faint mumbling from the caller then Jacob's face turned serious and dark. Stress lines appeared on his face with his body radiating more heat the usual, which made me nervous. "Charlie isn't here. He's at the funeral." Jacob hung up on the caller, smashing the phone down on the receiver.

"Who was it?" I asked, wondering just who it was to piss him off so much.

Jacob just turned away, pretending like he hadn't heard me. It wasn't until I grabbed his arm and tried to shake the answer out of him did he finally respond to me. "Dr. Carlisle Cullen," he said, hissing his name out.

"Why didn't you give me the phone then!" I shouted at him.

"He wanted to talk to Charlie, not you!" he spat back.

In less than a second, Jacob went from being a sweet guy to the biggest jackass! I wanted to hit him so hard, but I knew that wouldn't be a good idea right now considering how mad he was already. Ugh, I should just kick him in his wolf nuts and see if he'll phase into wolf form after that.

I pulled myself away from Jacob and went back to the kitchen just when I felt something. I ran back out to the living room to see Alice standing at the foot of the stairs with Jacob trying to jump in front of me. I just pushed him out of the way before he could make even more of a mess as Alice descended the stairs with speed.

The grave look in Alice's eyes frightened me as she got closer. I could hear Jacob growling from the couch, but I ignored him as I tried to get some answers from Alice. "It's Edward," she said as soon as I opened my mouth. "He thinks you're dead and now he's going to kill himself."

"Why would he think that?" I asked her. Then it dawned on me as I turned over to Jacob. It wasn't Carlisle who Jacob was talking to. It was Edward. Jacob never stated that it was Harry's funeral, so he must think it's mine. "Shit! Jacob told Edward that Charlie was at a funeral, but he didn't say who it was for."

"Good job, Wolf Boy," Alice whispered from the corner of her mouth.

"Watch it, Leech!" Jacob hissed from the couch.

"Shut up the both of you!" I shouted at them both. "Let me think here." I shook my head, trying to clear out my thoughts so I could focus on what was going on. Edward thought I was dead so now he was going to get himself killed. "Alice, are you sure that you told no one about your vision of me jumping? Edward would've never called unless he thought it was true."

"I told Rosalie," Alice said, softly. "Shit, Rose! She probably told Edward what I saw. I didn't get a chance to tell her that the vision changed."

"That clears up one thing," I said, leaning against the wall. "It's practically impossible for a vampire to destroy himself. So that means Edward would need to go somewhere else. Emmett and Jasper would never do it, so where would he go?"

Alice's eyes widened for a moment with a blank stare forming. I watched her carefully, realizing that she was having one of her visions. She finally snapped out of it though, looking far more frightened then she was before. "He's going to the Volturi!" she announced. "He's already on his way over to Italy. We need to leave now before it's too late to stop him."

"Right," I said, running over to the coat rack to grab my sweater. "Let's hurry, Alice. We don't have any time to waste."

"Wait!" Jacob shouted, stopping the both of us from leaving. He latched onto my wrist, pulling me away from Alice. "Rio, you're not going anywhere. You have to stay here! You can't just abandon us. What would Charlie think? How are you going to explain this one to him?"

"I have to do this, Jacob," I said, breaking away from him. I went over to the phone and took the notepad we had there. I quickly scribbled down a note, asking him to forgive me for this. I wrote down how Edward was in danger and he could ground me forever how long he wanted when I got back. I spun back around and joined Alice again, keeping my distance from Jacob this time.

Jacob just stared at me though with a look of disappointment on his face. I could tell that he didn't want me to go, but that didn't really matter to me at this point. "I have to save him, Jacob," I told him. "Even though I'm so mad at him, I can't let him die like this. I won't let him go to the Volturi and ask them to destroy him just because he thinks he's dead."

"Why not?" Jacob said, loudly. "He hurt you. He practically killed you! And who are these Volturi people anyways?"

"The oldest of my kind," said Alice. "They are the closest thing we have to royalty and you do not want to get on their bad side."

"So you're going to send Rio to the lion's den to save that bloodsucker!" shouted Jacob.

"Enough!" I shouted back at Jacob. "Alice, go wait in the car and get us a plane. I need to talk to Jacob alone." Alice nodded her head as she ran out the door to the Mercedes. She knew better to argue with me when I was like this. So I focused my sights on Jacob now, shaking my head at him. "I know that you don't like this, Jacob, but you have to deal with it. I'm my own person, you cannot control me. I'm doing this because I can't live with a guilty conscious. Just like when I thought you and the other wolves were murders, I went to you to try and save you. This is something I have to do."

Jacob walked over towards me, grabbing onto my arms though. He leaned in closer to me with a pleading look in those puppy dog eyes of his. "You're going to get yourself killed, Rio," Jacob said, weakly. "Please, you can't leave me. Not now, not like this. I love you, Rio Swan."

For only a moment, Jacob actually caught me off guard. But as much as I wanted to stay here and forget about Edward that just couldn't happen with him. I broke my arms free and placed them on his cheeks, kissing him softly on the lips. I pulled away from him; I felt a few tears escaping my eyes as I began to walk away from him.

"I love you too, Jacob Black," I confessed out loud, "but I have to go clean up this mess. Protect Charlie for me. I'll be back soon, I promise."

And I left it at that, running out the front door to the Mercedes. I jumped into the seat and less than a second, Alice took off before I could change my mind. I did see Jacob running out the house though, his last attempt to stop me. I knew that this was a bad way to leave things, but if Jacob truly loved me then he would understand that I had to do this.

I had to stop Edward from making a big mistake; it was the right thing to do.

* * *

**Race:**

Alice and I barely made it to the airport on time to catch our flight. We were running through the airport, well, I was doing all the running and Alice was just power-walking by vampire standards. We barely made to the plane before take-off; Alice guided me to our first-class seats which were actually very comfortable. The last time I was on a plane, I was with Edward and we were sitting coach.

But I shook my head from the thought as I tried to focus on what I was here for; I had to stop Edward from reaching the Volturi.

While my mind wandered for a way to rescue him, I heard Alice talking on the airplane phone after take-off. I wasn't really paying any attention to her until I heard her mention my name. It wasn't long after that I heard her say something that sent a signal to my brain that she was talking to Jasper. She was angry about Rosalie opening her mouth and potentially leading Edward to his doom.

"Yes, he's still alive," Alice said into the receiver. "Yeah, well, let's just say that Rio is all about the extreme sports." She paused, taking the time to listen to what Jasper had to say. "Of course that isn't true. It's because of Victoria. She is after him to get revenge because of James. Yeah, Edward didn't think that one through."

A heavy sigh escaped her chest, which worried me as our lonely flight grew silent. I watched her carefully, seeing worry lines growing on her flawless features. "Don't worry, Jasper," she said, sounding cheerful but not looking the part. "If I really thought this would end badly then I wouldn't be here with Rio. I'm positive that we can stop Edward before he meets with the Volturi. Don't worry, love, I'll be back with you soon enough."

I heard Alice say goodbye to Jasper before hanging up the phone. She looked worried and horribly disappointed as she stared out into space for a moment. You didn't have to be a mind reader to know what she was thinking. It was painfully obvious that Alice felt guilty about telling Jasper a lie. She really wasn't sure if we would be able to make it out of this one.

I had to wonder why though as I continued to stare at her. We did have plenty of time to stop Edward, right? I mean, he couldn't have left longer then maybe an hour or so before us. That shouldn't mean that much of a difference. That was unless he knew a little sooner about my "suicide attempt" and had been on his way to see the Volturi. Oh, how that horrid thought plagued my mind as I kept watching Alice, hoping that she would be able to give me something to live off of.

"We should be in New York in a few hours," Alice finally whispered to me. "Our flight is going to leave about fifteen minutes after we land. That should give us enough time to run to the next gate then we'll be on our way to Italy."

"Then what, Alice?" I asked her. "How are we supposed to save Edward? You and Edward mentioned that the Volturi were powerful." Well, to be correct they said that the Volturi were beyond that. I didn't think we'd be stupid enough to fight them. And I certainly wasn't that stupid to fight them, especially since I was having too many conflicting feelings revolving Edward and Jacob.

"But they also value those who are special," said Alice. "The Volturi covet those with their own unique abilities like Edward, Jasper, and myself posses. Aro and Marcus have their own abilities along with most of their guard. The Volturi will take the time to try and persuade Edward to join them before deliberating a final decision."

"So that would be a good thing?" I asked. "I mean that they'll try and drag this out. That should give us more time, right?"

"It should," Alice said, "so long as Edward sticks with the dramatics."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked her.

"I'll explain when we take off from New York. It's going to be a long ride, Rio, so you better get some rest."

I was forced into taking her advice as I took a lengthy nap. I didn't wake up again until we landed in New York, which was when Alice began to drag me out of the plane so we could reach our next flight. We ran again, but this time we were closer and didn't have to be bothered with lame security. It took us half the time and we made it with plenty of time to spare as our international flight filled up quickly.

As I tried to get comfortable for this flight, I felt a chill against me. I turned to the side to see Alice's blank stare, which was a sign of a vision she was having. I waited until her mind returned to reality to force her to talk about what she saw. My gut told me it was about Edward, I was praying that he decided to turn back and not go through with the suicide.

No such luck though.

"He's reached the Volturi," she said, grimly. "They rejected his proposal." She gave out a heavy sigh as the last passenger passed by us. There was a businessman across from us who seemed to be listening, but Alice gave off an intimidating vibe that made him cease. "Aro is asking him to consider joining them, but Edward refused them. Edward's trying to come up with a plan to have them destroy him. They'll only do it if he exposes himself though."

"What would he do though?" I asked her.

"Right now he's thinking about hunting within the city," Alice said, softly. "The Volturi are very protective over Volterra. It's a strict rule for no vampires to hunt within the walls of the city, even the Volturi obey their own decree. They have their meals brought to them from outside the city, sometimes very far away."

That gave me a shiver at the mere thought. I almost thought that the notion of the Volturi not hunting in the city was a little redeeming. Then Alice had to go in drop that bombshell. I tried not to think about the poor people who were dragged to their doom from across the globe.

It didn't get any better for me though as Alice continued.

"He's changed his mind about hunting," she whispered. "He doesn't want to let Carlisle down, not in that way."

The good son to the very end, I wanted to say. I turned away from Alice, curling my hands into fists as I tried to wish that none of this would happen. I didn't want Edward to get himself killed. Not because of me, someone so weak and docile. I was doomed to die anyways, I just couldn't understand why he would push himself this way.

"He's made his decision," Alice said, breaking me from his trance. "He's going to show himself in the sun."

I guess that's what Alice meant by Edward being dramatic. The first thing that came to mind was Edward removing his shirt for me in the meadow. The way his skin began to light up like diamonds were very mesmerizing and would catch the attention of plenty of people. I couldn't think of a single soul who could ignore the raw appeal of the diamond shine that Edward or any vampire had on their body. It was the best way to expose himself without compromising any of the beliefs that he held to his heart.

As I thought about the actions Edward would take, Alice was busy focusing on monitoring his movement. I turned to her only for a second before deciding that this was going to be a long flight. I decided it would be best for me to get more rest so I drifted off to sleep, praying that we'd somehow make it through this. I could only pray though that my higher power was listening and was willing to help us out for our rescue mission.

Time didn't seem to matter to me when I finally woke up from the long flight. I opened my eyes just as we were coming down for a landing. This was the part that I hated since it felt like my privates were being pushed inside me by all the force. I clenched onto the armrests for a painful landing, trying to focus my thoughts on coming up with a way to save Edward.

When the doors finally opened, Alice and I were the first off the plane. I was running behind Alice, asking her just how far we were from Edward and just how we were supposed to reach them. Apparently, we were very far away so that meant we were going to need a car in order to reach him before it was too late. Alice shared with me that Edward decided to show himself off to the people of Volterra at noon.

It was already ten so we had two hours to get there.

Alice and I were standing outside of the airport, trying to come up with something to do. It was Alice, brilliant as ever, who finally figured out just what we could do about it. "Hey Rio," she said, sounding cheerful, "how do you feel about a little grand theft auto?" I turned around to face her, trying to process what she said when she disappeared from my sight. I tried to call after Alice, but she was out of range and not coming back anytime soon.

I groaned loudly as I kicked my feet against the pavement. I couldn't understand what was going on in that psychic vamp's head until I heard the roar of a might engine. When I turned around, I saw Alice pulling up to me in a yellow Porsche. As sick as this was, my first reaction was to think about all of the trouble that we were going to be in. That was until Alice assured me that the owner wouldn't be back for hours so we had plenty of time to make a getaway.

I sighed as I jumped into the Porsche, Alice taking off with full throttle as she sped down the road. I had forgotten just how fast vampires liked to drive. It was enough to make my stomach sink to the bottoms of my feet. This was necessary though. We were already passed eleven and pressed for time as it quickly turned against us. The urgency in her speed was a necessary evil to achieve the greater good. I tried not to hurl all over the car as Alice gave me the basic details of Volterra.

"Today is the Saint Marcus Festival," she informed me. "It's the day where the city's patron saint drove the last of the vampires out of the walls. Of course, this Saint Marcus is the same as the Volturi Marcus so don't let this smoke and mirrors fool you. Anyways, the town's going to be packed and it's going to be difficult for us to get in so we're going to need to be crafty and quick. Do you think that you can handle it, Rio?"

"Do I have any other choice?" I asked her.

"No, but I thought it would be polite to ask," she said as we finally made it down the curvy road to see a large city.

I could only assume that Volterra stood in the distance.

* * *

**Volterra:**

Alice drove at full speed to Volterra where the Volturi lived and Edward was going to take his life. I clung onto the handle of the door as Alice drove around traffic to break through the gates of the city. As we got closer to the city on top of a hill with beautiful sienna colored stone, I could see flash of red everywhere.

Traffic got far more congested as we got closer to the city. I could see a sea of red that made me nervous, Alice had to explain that was part of the festivities to me. We kept away from talking about the actual festival so we can focus more about the big plan we had. All signs were still pointing to Edward showing himself off at noon in front of a large crowd of people.

"Do you know where he's going to do it?" I asked her.

"He'll want to do it somewhere that he'll get the most attention," she said, calmly. "Give me just a minute to see where he'll go."

We were stopped at the gate of the city by the police barrier. The cops filtered the cars through, our stolen Porsche being one of the first to get pushed through. The next blockade was a little trickier for us to go through. The cop was speaking to us in Italian so I couldn't understand what he was saying, but Alice did though. The cop didn't know what hit him when Alice dazzled him with a smile before handing over a wad of cash to him.

Our cop friend passed us through without any more trouble.

We reached the end of the road though with the traffic becoming too bad for us to go any further. It stressed me out as I tried to ask Alice what we were going to do now. She told me to shut up though so that she could focus on finding Edward and exactly what he was doing. Her eyes were closed and I was heaving as I saw the clock getting dangerously close to noon.

"Palazzo dei Priori," Alice said, strongly. "He'll be at the palazzo. Rio, you're going to have to go on your own. Edward will only jump to his doom if he sees or hears me coming. It has to be you; he has to see you to believe that it's true."

"Alright," I told her. "Where is the Palazzio deli Prinori?"

I know I fumbled up the pronunciation, which is why she forced me to repeat it after her twenty times until I got it right. I got it right after the fourth try so she was able to send me off without any trouble. "Say clock tower if they speak English," she told me. "Now get running, Rio. You have less than ten minutes to get to him before it's too late. I need you to not be a total klutz for once, we don't have any time to spare for you to trip to your doom."

"Palazzo dei Priori," I shouted as I jumped out of the car.

I took off running as fast as I could to the Palazzo. I figured that it would be at the center of the town since I could see it faintly peaking through the tops of all the buildings. I pushed myself to run as fast as I could without falling down anywhere. The uneven steps weren't helping my balance any, which worried me that I really would screw this up like Alice told me not to.

We couldn't afford any screw ups though. I needed to rescue Edward, he saved my life once before so I owed him this. Well, he actually saved my life more than once, but if figured I owed him the big one where he saved me from James. I didn't really feel like thinking too much about the time with Tyler's van and those creeps from Port Angeles.

The crowd got thicker as I got closer to the clock tower though. That made me truly miserable as I tried to push through all of these people that were blocking my way. All the pushing and shoving did more harm than good though. I made plenty of Italians angry with me as they shoved me back, forcing me out from the crowd I was trying to sneak through. It was like a bad mosh pit minus all the fists and feet flying all over the place.

I stumbled out of the crowd, nearly knocking over a crowd of guys. I straightened myself quickly enough though and ran away from the guys before they tried to talk to me. I ran back around the crowd, taking the long way to reach the clock tower as I prayed that I would make it on time.

I barely made it around the crowd when I heard heavy doors being pushed open. I picked my head up to see someone stepping out from across the crowd, through the fountain. The crowd stepped aside to focus on the actual attractions of the festival, which is when I saw him. My breath escaped me as I saw that it was him, it was Edward who was emerging from another building.

"Edward!" I screamed from across the fountain. "Edward stop!"

Edward wasn't listening to me though. He was busy stepping closer to the light with his shirt completely open as he slowly began to peel it off. His shirt dropped to the ground and for a moment he looked as if he was going to reconsider doing this. His moment ended though as he opened his eyes and slowly began to step forward.

He looked far more perfect then he did in my memory. My mind did him no justice as he stood there like a beautiful angel. He was everything I could've imagined and more. His flawless features radiated throughout my mind, making me forget all about Jacob for a moment. It was only a moment though.

"No!" I shouted, springing to my feet once more.

As the crowd began to open up, I ran to the fountain to cut across the water. I jumped into the water and ran through it with my jeans getting soaked from shoes to waist. I climbed out of the fountain, continuing to scream Edward's name as I got closer to him. He was getting too close to the sun and even though there was no one around to see him immediately I knew that it would only be a matter of time before someone would. Even too me, he was still dazzling.

I was so close to him now. His eyes were closed, but I was right there. So I took the final leap, I jumped against him, crashing against his hard and cold body. Without any hesitation from him, his familiar arms wrapped around my waist, while I pushed him out of the immediate sunlight. It was hard to do since he was so determined not to move, but he continued to cling onto me and I heard him take a whiff from my hair.

"Carlisle was right," Edward's honey smooth voice whispered. "There is a Heaven for us after all."

"You're not in Heaven, Edward!" I told him.

"Then this is Hell," He said, holding onto my closer. "I don't care if it is Hell. I don't care so long as I can see you, even if it's only to torture me."

"No, idiot!" I shouted at him. "You're still on Earth. I'm still alive, you big dummy! Just open your eyes and get out of the sun."

For once in his life, Edward actually listened to me for a change. I tilted my head up and saw him open his bronze colored eyes to look at me. His amazing smile grew and I felt his hold on me grow tighter as he lifted me off and dragged me into a shaded alley without any thought.

That didn't matter to me though. I had lost all track of thought as I stared into the dazzling eyes of my first love. As we stood in the darkness of the alley, I felt his presence overpowering every bit of self-restraint I had. Everything that once told me to hate him and yell at him until he melted into nothing just fluttered away without a second thought. I was lost in his eyes and my heart was hammering against my chest as we just looked into each other's eyes.

Edward's hand touched my cheek with a happy grin growing in his face despite the danger we were in. I felt myself smiling at me as his cheery grin broke through every wall I placed over myself. "How is this possible?" he asked me. "Alice saw you die."

"You should know better," I told him. "I'm not that easy to kill off."

A pleasant chuckle escaped his throat as he continued to hold me with one arm on my waist and the other on my cheek.

But that all changed though as a shiver began to run down my spine. It wasn't because of Edward's cold skin either. The weather was warm enough to counter that out so it had to be something else, it was the same chill I felt when James and his coven showed up. It was when I felt a slight growl escape Edward's chest that I knew we were going to be in trouble.

When I turned my head back, I saw two men in black robes appearing from the street. Their hood were pulled down now that they were in the alley with us and I could see the red eyes and their olive-colored skin that they shared together over their chalky complexions. One of them was tall and built like Emmett with short black hair that had minimal layers to it. The other was shorter and very lean with a dark scowl escaping his face. He had silky black hair that ran to his shoulders.

"Hello, Felix, Demetri," Edward said, politely. Despite the politeness, I could sense all the disdain behind his voice. It worried me the way he was behaving, I could already sense the danger we were in. "I'm sorry that you both needed to come here, but you can tell Aro that I'm no longer in need of his services."

"You can tell him that yourself," said the smaller one. "Isn't that right, Felix?'

"They are Aro's orders," said Felix. "He ordered Demetri and I to bring you back to finish our meeting."

Edward's chest heaved against me as I tried to keep myself out of this. I didn't want a repeat of when Paul tried to attack me because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. So I just let Edward do all of the talking, I figured that would be the best.

He just pulled away from me, doing his best to keep me out of this as well. "Fine then," he said, fighting to maintain his cool. "Rio, go enjoy the festival. I'll be back soon enough."

"Not!" growled the one called Demetri. "Aro wants the boy too."

That frightened me as I instinctively reached out for Edward's hand. Why would the Volturi want me? I'm just a human after all. That was unless Edward had shared the secret about me being not fully human with them. They might want to figure out what I am before they try to devour me. I knew Edward wouldn't do that though, at least, not intentionally.

Edward held me close to, his eyes looked like they were calculating an escape plan. I didn't see how there was one. I feared that these two were part of the guard that Alice warned me about. She said how the Volturi's guard were made up of vampires of remarkable power, far stronger then what I've seen before.

"That's enough, boys. There is a lady present." We all looked back with a heavy sigh escaping my chest. It was Alice, she was coming up from behind us with a cheerful grin on her face. She joined Edward and me, taking a firm stance behind us. "Hello brother," she said, smiling. "I see you got my gift."

"You should not have," Edward said, half-serious.

I was left out of the loop though since their conversation grew silent. I only could assume that Alice was filling Edward in on what happened through telepathy. So I just tried to play the dumb human that was way over his head card. It was starting to look like Jacob was right about me not coming here. This wasn't going to end pretty, I could just feel it.

However, before anything could be done, the door beside us were pushed open with a loud thud. That gained all of the vampires' attention as a slim, childlike figure approached us from the open doorway. I looked at their pale face, trying to tell just who this innocent looking figure was as they got closer to us. At first, I thought that this pale-brown haired person with dark-red eyes and pale skin was a boy.

I was sadly mistaken though when she opened her mouth.

"What is taking you so long?" she said, disattached. "Aro is getting impatient. He sent you up here to do a simple job and all you are doing is attracting attention to yourselves."

"Forgive us, Jane," said Felix.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing too," she said, fridgedly. Despite the innocent and almost angelic appearance she had, I could tell she was something to truly be feared. This Jane had Felix and Demetri cowering before her so I knew she was a vampire of higher status. Even Alice and Edward were afraid of her just by the join look they shared.

Jane wasn't amused with any of them though as she turned her head, setting her sights on me. "A human," she said, unamused. "Well, bring him along. I'm sure that Aro will find him to be interesting."

"Yes Jane," said Demetri.

As they got closer to me though, Alice stepped in the way with Edward covering my other side. The fear they had for Jane disappeared for a moment as they focused their concern on my safety, which was something I needed to thank them for. Jane only shook her head as she turned around, leading us into the building in front of us. I stayed beside Alice and Edward, while Felix and Demetri followed us from behind.

I could only cling onto Edward's hands as we wandered into a dark hallway. It didn't seem so dark when Jane had emerged from it, but that was when we were still partly in the sunlight. I had to completely rely on Edward and Alice to guide me as my vision slowly became worse and worse as we descended deeper.

The walls became cave-like for a moment with stones surrounding us. The heels of everyone's shoes caused an annoying echo that drove me batty as we kept walking downward. Despite all the fear boiling up inside me, I honestly felt better about everything now that Edward was around. Did that mean I was out of love with Jacob, no. But all of the pain of the last few months seemed to disappear for a moment. The anxieties and suffering had melted away now so I could at least enjoy what may be my final moments of life with some form of happiness.

I wondered if he was feeling the same way about me? If he was so willing to commit suicide for me, was he willing to die with me as we went down to what I believe was the Volturi's lair? Could he deal with that? Was he regretting coming to Volterra now? I didn't regret coming here though, I knew I had to do the right thing by saving Edward from destroying his life like that.

Now, we were going to have a very Romeo and Juliet ending.

Oh please Jacob, I hope you could find it in your heart to forgive me for this.

Edward held me close to him and I suddenly became aware of just how cold I was. It wasn't just because he was so cold or the fact that it got colder the deeper we went, but it was also the fact that my pants were soaked! I knew that I'd probably get sick now if survived this, but that was only if I survived what the Volturi were going to do. With any luck they might let us live, if we were very lucky.

That was a very big if though.

"You shouldn't have come here," Edward whispered to me.

"Would you have believe Alice if she told you that I was still alive?" I asked him.

"No," he said, sadly. "It still would've been better than this."

"I have no regrets," I told him. "I've made my peace. I'm not afraid to die, again. At least it will be better then Victoria chasing me down for the rest of my life."

"I'm sorry about that too. I honestly thought you'd be safer without me around," he said, disappointment evident in his voice.

"Yeah, you're a dumbass," I said loud enough for my voice to echo against the walls.

Edward went silent after that as we finally reached the end of our road. Jane pushed a door open, leading us to a small room with a greater door beyond it. And within that door, I knew would be what decided my fate.

If I don't make it out of this, Jacob, I pray that you know just how much I love you.

And Edward, I don't regret coming here to save you because I love you too.


	10. New Moon V

Author's Note: Prepare to hate me with the final chapter for New Moon. I'm going to make many of you hate me with the ending, but you might respect me and Rio more because of it. Haha. I was listening to a lot of angry music while writing it. Bonus info for the chapter, we finally get to learn what Rio is! YAY! Haha. I'm half-tempted to redo a lot of Eclipse, including adding an angry/seductive karaoke scene and a wedding. How would you all feel about a CharlieXSue pairing? Do you think you can handle Rio being Leah and Seth's step-brother? Let me know what you think about that! Haha. Read and review!

**Verdict:**

The door we passed led us into a room that I didn't expect to be in. This chamber was built more like a waiting room of an office, which sent creepy chills down my spine. I looked around to see the wooden paneling against the stone wall with furniture scattered against the walls to give it a more comfortable appearance. The most surprising thing of it all was the desk stationed against the wall with a woman sitting there with a cheery smile.

She rose up from her desk with her black hair swaying against her. The black dress she wore swayed as she did so, looking over to us with a fair amount of plainness to her. She said something in Italian that I knew meant welcome, but it was the way that she said it that surprised me the most. Unlike all these graceful, powerful vampires that surrounded us, she was nothing like them. She was more like me.

"Afternoon Gianna," Jane said, sounding bored.

I got closer towards Edward as my vampire company stopped walking. I continued to cling onto his arm; turning back for a moment to make sure what I saw really was true. "She's…human?" I whispered to him. Edward nodded his head, not bothering to look surprised. He must've already known this from his first visit, but Alice did seem to share the look. "Does she know about all of this?"

"She knows," Edward whispered to me. "She wants to be part of the Volturi, a vampire."

"Like them," I whispered, not bothering to turn back to her.

"And so she will be," Demetri said, interrupting us.

"Or dessert," Jane mumbled from the front.

Before I could even attempt to process these horrifying thoughts I had for this poor woman, there was a rumble by the door. I turned back, catching sight of Felix shooting a wink at Gianna before the doors swung open. Another figure emerged, this one far more beautiful than the other vampires that were here.

He was youthful and as angelic looking as Jane was. I knew that he was no angel though that he was truly a devil in disguise. His hair was a darker shade of brown that seemed to reflect nicely against his pale skin and tall figure. He was physically about the same size as Edward with lips not quite as full as Jane's. He was hoodless unlike the others; instead, he wore a dark suit that made his youthful face look even younger.

The boy walked over to Jane with Demetri and Felix bowing in respect of him. He kissed Jane's cheeks before looking over at us. "They send you out for one and you come back with a two...and a half," he said, focusing his attention to me. "Such a clever girl. Aro will be pleased by this new development. I suppose that your request was rather pointless now then, Edward."

"You're right, Alec," Edward said, calmly. "I'm glad that you managed to retain more manners then your sister.

Jane huffed at him as she joined Alec's side.

Alec began to smirk at us before turning back around to the open door. "Aro is waiting for us," he said, firmly. "Let's not keep him waiting any longer." His voice remained calm and collected as he pushed us forward. We all began to follow him into the next room. I continued to cling onto Edward's arm like a lost child as I prepared myself to meet with the Volturi.

Now this was what I was expecting a little more from the ancient vampires. We walked into a throne room-like place that was massive and surrounded by vampires at every corner. The ones that stood against the walls wore dark suits, which made me assume that they were the guard that Alice warned me of.

The room was decorated with white walls that seemed a little out of place with large windows at top and strange paintings on the walls. As we got closer to the center, I noticed the sunlight reflecting against the vampires in the room. Their skin sparkled like diamonds against it, each one seeming to be far more mesmerizing then the last one.

Then there was the throne itself. Three chairs were placed beside each other, each being equally elaborated. At one of the chairs stood a vampire in a dark-black suit with a silver chain around his neck and an amulet dangling from it. This almost translucent skin vampire was surrounded by women in royal dresses with their hairs tied into elegant buns. His hair was long, jet black that went down to his back and his eyes seemed to look milky-red.

"Oh happy days!" the vampire cheered as he left his throne. "My young friends have returned to us." He reached Jane with Alec standing away from his sister side. The man kissed Jane on the cheeks with a prideful smile beginning to form on her face as he did so. "You did well, Jane. I'm so happy that you've brought them to me."

The man broke away from Jane as she turned to join Alec once more. He was slowly creeping close to us, almost as if he were floating. And as he got closer, his skin seemed so much more foreign; I almost wanted to touch it to prove that it was as smooth and cold as the others. He didn't seem to notice though once he was close enough as Felix and Demetri parted from our side.

"Young Edward Cullen," the man said with a happy smile, "now, aren't you glad I denied your request? Yes, I'm sure you are!" His cheery voice only reeked with fakeness as he turned to look at Alice. His smile only grew wider as he got closer to her, but remembered to respect a lady's space. "The beautiful Alice, I've heard much about you from Edward."

"It's an honor to meet you, Aro," Alice said, politely.

"The honor is mine," he replied back.

Aro looked away from Alice then returned to where Edward and I were standing. Now, all eyes were on me as he got closer. His closeness was a bit unsettling for me so I was forced to retreat further against Edward's arm as this ancient vampire's scent was becoming too intoxicating for me to handle.

"So this is the famous Ilario Swan!" Aro said with a happy tune. He pulled back only slightly so he could straighten his posture. His eyes were focused solely on me, and I felt as if he were examining just every single bit of my figure in an instant. "My my, the pain that you had to endure with this one, Edward. Had I never felt your pain for him, I would've thought of him nothing more than a simple human. He is so much more then that though. The song of his scent is stronger than a Siren's call to seamen. I cannot understand how you could resist such a creature's pull."

"It wasn't without a lot of practice," Edward said as calmly as possible as he held onto me. "Carlisle is a wonderful teacher. It was painful at first to stay away from Rio, but being away was far more painful then being around him, as you're aware of."

"Yes, I am aware," Aro said, calmly. "But I still believe you shouldn't deny yourself such a savory creature. If I didn't have so much restrained, myself, then I'm certain I would attack him at once." A dark chuckle escaped his throat, which only worked on making me nervous. That wasn't something that went unnoticed though as an apologetic look form. "Ah, forgive me, Ilario. I respect the closeness that you and Edward share; I wouldn't want to violate that now. What amazes me though is how you survived falling to your death, especially since Alice foresaw it."

"My visions aren't as permanent as everyone thinks," Alice said, softly. "The future is always changing with the decisions we make. It turns out that Rio wasn't falling to his death like I foresaw, it was something else entirely."

"Strange, but still such a gift like yours should be recognized," said Aro. "Just like young Edward here. His gift is far superior compared to mine though, far more useful as well."

I noticed a faint smirk growing on Edward's face from the compliment that he received. Alice turned with a curious look in her eyes, which Edward turned to explain. "Forgive me, Aro, but I believe your gift is superior to mine," he said, smoothly. "You're capable of seeing every single thought that someone has had throughout their entire life with a simple touch. I can only hear what they're currently thinking."

The depth of Aro's powers amazed both me and Alice as we looked at him. Aro seemed to chuckle, still saying how he wished he had Edward's gifts instead. He simply turned around and walked over to his throne just as another set of doors open.

Two more figures joined us, wearing large robes to cover their beings. I just knew that these two were the other leaders of the Volturi long before they sat at the thrones. The larger of the pair had a bored, expressionless look on his face that went with his long, curly brown hair. The other one just looked at us with a vicious glance, his skin being equally as translucent as the other two with long, snow-white hair to give him a far more youthful appearance then the other two.

"Marcus, Caius, look at this!" Aro said, happily to his other two companions. "Edward has returned he's even brought Alice and Ilario with him."

"Oh joy," said the snow-white man as he sat at his throne.

The one with dark hair motioned for Aro to come near him. Without any words being said, I noticed the man touch Aro's wrist before turning away to look at the wall for something a little more interesting. I noticed the curious expression form on Aro's face before quickly changing to a calmer one as he sat at his throne.

"Marcus's ability is a useful one," Aro began to say. "He can see the strength and nature of the relationship between people. There is a very interesting one between the two of you, Edward and Ilario. Edward, Marcus can see the love you have for Ilario and the burning desire to protect him from us harming him. Now, Ilario, Marcus had a little more trouble seeing you, but he can see a conflicting storm around your heart. You love Edward with such passion and generosity, but there is a fire in there that wants nothing more than to inflict pain upon him. That is just curious."

"Enough of this talk, Aro," said Caius. "It doesn't matter the relationship that the boy has with the Cullen, he is human and he knows our secret. The boy must be destroyed at once."

"No, Caius," Aro said, firmly. "I find Ilario to be very interesting, especially since there seems to be more to him then he appears." He stood up from his throne and I noticed the way that Edward flinched against me. Edward only turned his head, his eyes pleading for me to forgive him and that's how I knew what Aro knew before the words left his mouth. "You see, young Ilario here is something beyond human. There is something else in his blood, something part of the magical world that we live in. So you see, Caius, Ilario isn't human. We haven't seen any so remarkable since Jane and Alec were still human."

That seemed enough to catch everyone in the room's attention, while I just shivered. Having a room full of vampires suddenly finding you interesting didn't seem like such a good thing. Especially since these vampires were more willing to bite a person opposed to the vegetarian ones that I hung out with.

Aro descended the throne once more as he appeared in front of us in a second. He ignored Edward's presence with his eyes now locked on mine, fear shivering throughout my body. "If you may, Ilario," he said, softly as he held out his hand. "I'd like to see your thoughts. I would like to see if I could possibly; narrow down the infinite possibilities as to who you are. I'd also like to see if you are as immune to my abilities as you are to Edward's."

I gulped as I turned to Edward, briefly. He only nodded his head, knowing that I didn't have a real choice in the matter either way. I could comply or I could be forced those were my only two options. I decided to comply since I could see that ending a little bit better for me in the long run. So I lifted p my hand, shaking as I tried to give it to Aro. Once I was close enough though, Aro took hold of it and held it with both of his hands.

The confident smile on his face melted away as he looked away from my eyes. He released my hands and slowly began to walk back towards the throne. "Not even I could see you," he said, softly. "Whatever you are, there is a wall put up to keep mental intrusions from reaching you. A remarkable being you must be, Ilario, to have such a gift." He took one step up to his throne and turned his head slightly towards Jane. I didn't like the look of that and neither did Edward as he instantly began to twitch. "Let's see if you're immune to our other gifts. Jane, why don't you test my theory?"

A smile formed on Jane's face as she looked at us.

Edward wasn't having any of it though as he jumped in front of me. Before Felix and Demetri could grab onto him, Edward was done on the floor and holding back an intense pain. I felt a strange tingle in the air as I looked down at him, trying to join his side when Alice pulled me away. She held onto me and kept me away as Edward continued to wither because of an unseen source of pain.

That's when I noticed Jane as she continued to smile. This was her gift; she could inflict some type of psychological pain on you. Just the thought of it made my heart slam against my chest as I feared that she could possibly do the same to me.

Edward stopped moving eventually and Jane seemed to stop doing what she was doing.

Aro gained another chuckle as he began to clap his hands. He looked down at Edward's broken body as he struggled to get himself to stand. "What a brave boy you are," Aro said. "You managed not to cry out from the pain. I've never seen that happen. I even asked Jane to use her gift against me, even I was crying like a baby."

"Bastard," Edward hissed, barely loud enough for me to hear it. He sprang to his feet in less than a second and was soon attacked by Demetri. Alice broke away from me and looked as if she were about to join him when Felix snatch onto her and held her back.

The blur of motion that formed by Edward trying to fight Demetri left me dizzy for a moment. It ended quickly enough though by Demetri slamming the weakened Edward down to the ground, breaking the tilling. I tried to run over to him without thinking about it when a pair of hands grabbed onto my arms. I looked back to see that it was Alec who wore a dark grin on his face that he soon shared with Jane.

Edward continued to growl, despite Demetri holding him down. I looked over at Jane to see the grin on her face growing wider. I was expecting something truly horrible, but I felt nothing but my worry for Edward as Demetri continued to hold him down. I didn't pay any attention at all to the disappointed frown on Jane's face as I fought to break free from Alec's strong hold.

"Leave him alone!" I shouted, loudly.

I felt something burning within me. I knew it at once to be magic; I could taste the magic growing at the tip of my tongue. Alec's hold seemed to disappear, I didn't know how nor did I care. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to get Demetri away from Edward; I had to rescue Edward again.

That's when I noticed the glow escaping my hands. The burning glow was itching to be released so I did what I could to release it. I held my hands up, releasing twin rays of light that ripped Demetri away from Edward and pinned him against the stairs that led to the Volturi throne. Demetri cried out with pain for a moment before exhaustion soon began to ripple throughout my body.

I quickly collapsed with my head to the floor when I felt arms catching me. Alice had been released from Felix and she was now supporting me, while Edward was healing. Before an all out war broke out, Aro gave out a strong cry to stop that left the guards paralyzed. That's when I lifted my head up, noticing the shared look of worry that Aro and the other members of the Volturi had plastered on their faces.

"Magic," Marcus whispered.

"The magic of the Light Ones," said Aro. "He is a Son of the god, Freyr."

"A half-elf!" Caius growled with distain.

The room was left in silence, nobody wanting to say a single word. I was equally amazed to know that the Volturi knew exactly what I was, but I was more surprised to hear that I was an elf. Correction, I'm a half-elf. I didn't even know that elves were real and that was the last thing on my list of possible mythological beings.

Aro drew away from the throne once more, his eyes looking down upon me. Edward had just joined us, he was helping Alice prop me up to my feet although it was unnecessary. Aro watched us though, the look on his face shifting to something that of curiosity.

"So the mystery is solved then, it makes sense," Aro said, calmly. "A half-elf, I didn't think there were anymore left in our world. Caius drove the last of the elves to another dimension three centuries ago while the remaining half-breeds died off without their protection. Now to see a half-breed still alive that is remarkable."

"It doesn't change the facts, Aro!" Caius said as he rose up from his throne. "The boy must die! We sought to destroy the elves for good reason. They are too powerful; they are the only beings on the planet who could destroy us without any difficulty. We cannot allow this boy to continue breathing for if his powers grow any stronger."

"Caius, do you honestly think that to be wise?" said Aro. "Don't you think that the elves know that Ilario is alive and one of them? Don't you think that they will know that it was we who killed him? How foolish you are, that will only cause a war with the elves! We managed to drive their numbers to extinction, but it's been three centuries. Their numbers would've recovered by now and they will want their revenge against us!"

"So we let the boy live," Marcus said, firmly. "It will be an act of generosity to the elves and their god. They will not start a war with us and we can continue to live in harmony."

"I'm glad you can see reason, Marcus," said Aro. "Now, Caius, will you side with us on the matter? We do not wish for a god to be angry with us, now would we?"

"Fine," Caius said, firmly. "But they must leave this city soon. I cannot make any promises that I will respect this for a lengthy period."

"Then it is settled!" Aro's voice boomed throughout the throne room. "Edward, take Ilario and Alice, leave our city at nightfall. You must hurry though, Heidi returns soon. Felix, show them out."

Felix turned towards us, leading us out of the exit. My head was hurting though as I tried to process the quick conversation that occurred between the Volturi. I tried to listen to everything that they said, but it was hard to. It all happened so fast, I was still trying to grasp the notion of being an elf.

Then there was Freyr, a God of Farming, Male Fertility, and Weather. From what research I did, I knew him to be the creator of the Light Elves. So did that mean the higher power that I always saw in my visions…could it be a god who I was speaking too?

I didn't have much time to think about this though as we passed by a large tour group. That didn't seem right nor possible. I saw an elegant, statuesque woman passing by and exchanged pleasantries with Felix as she led the group of people into the Volturi's chamber. Even with my shattered mind, I knew just what was about to happen as Felix quickly doubled back and left us in the office.

"Edward," Alice said, quickly.

"I know," Edward said as he wrapped his arms around my head.

That didn't block out the first set of screams I heard though from the throne room.

* * *

**Flight:**

The horrifying screams faded away soon enough though once we escaped to the hall outside of the office. Alice stood by the doorway, keeping her distance from us as I sat on Edward's lap and tried to tune out the horrific screams. I didn't want to remember any of it, I didn't want to remember seeing the confused faces of the children in the group. That woman, Heidi, brought them all there just so the Volturi could have a snack.

Edward held onto me, trying to keep me from freaking out any more. I was shaking though in his arms partly because of the cold and partly because I knew we had escaped a narrow death. What the Volturi said was absolutely terrifying. They had hunted elves, elves like me to the point of extinction. What was stopping them from coming after me now? Why would they choose to spare me when they didn't to all the elves before me?

It was all too much for me to think about as I sunk deeper against Edward's chest.

Alice was the first to break through the silence that dampened us. She approached Edward, her hand fell on his shoulder from what I could see through the corner of my eye. "What did Aro mean when he said that Rio's blood sings to you?" she said, softly.

"It's like I always said before," Edward whispered, "his scent affects me more than anyone else. That's what Aro meant by Rio's blood singing to me."

"I thought it had something to do with me being an elf," I finally whispered.

Edward held me closer, running his hand through the curls in my hair. His cool skin rubbed against the back of my head and sent relaxing shivers down my neck. "That could be a possibility," he said, softly. "The elves were famous for their fair appearance, their entrancing dance, and serene singing. I used to think the elves were just legends, not even Carlisle encountered one. The elves strayed away from the vampires as much as possible for fear of us attacking them."

"It all seems to make sense now," Alice said, keeping her distance from us now. "With all the things that you can do, the legends said that the elves were capable of wielding an incredible amount of magic. Even the half-breeds like yourself were said to be strong enough to fend off a vampire."

"Yeah," I whispered, leaning against Edward, "it really does make sense. I hurt both James and Laurent with my magic. I must really have elf blood in me, but how is that possible if the Volturi drove them all away?"

"Let's not worry about that now," Edward whispered to me. "You need to rest, it has been a long day for you."

I almost didn't want to disagree with him. I could always ask the higher power later the next time he sent me a cosmic vision. So I tried to rest as I clung onto Edward when the doors boomed open, breaking through the cloud of silence once more.

We all looked up to see that it was Alec who entered the cavern. His eyes seemed more relaxed and even his intimidating figure seemed a little less frightening. He even smiled at us as he began to shrug out of his coat.

"The sun is down, it's safe for you to leave the city," he said, sweetly. His voice was laced with fake kindness, speaking as if he had been an old friend. He threw his coat across the way with Edward catching it and putting it on without even moving away from me. "I hope you enjoyed your visit to our city. Please feel free to come back again. Aro is looking forward to your next visit."

"We'll be certain to call first," Edward told him.

Alec nodded his head before disappearing through the other side of the door, closing it behind him.

Edward lifted me up without any difficulty, carrying me bridal style. Alice was already leading the way for us as Edward told her to find a car so that we could escape the city. She nodded her head and took off running, leaving us behind as Edward walked slowly through the cavern.

I locked my arms around his neck and breathed in his familiar scent. The almost honey scent reminded me of how things used to be, back when everything felt a little simpler. To think that so much had changed in only a couple of months. There were so many things within my heart, conflicting with everything around me.

We stayed silent until Alice finally returned with a call. We had just escaped the cavern when we saw her parked in the middle of the street with the sea of red robes parting ways from us. Edward carried me into the car, Alice mumbling on how she wished she could've gotten a Porsche. He promised to by her a yellow one for Christmas, which seemed to bring her a lot of joy.

Once more I dealt with a speedy vampire, but it didn't bother me so much this time. I just sunk against Edward, ignoring the grim smell that belonged to Alec and his coat. I just prayed that this ride would be over quick. I wouldn't' feel safe again until we were at the airport and in the air, far away from the Volturi and their city.

Lucky enough there was room on the next flight for us. It was a long, international flight straight to Atlanta that would land in the morning. My fears didn't let up until we were in the air and gained plenty of distance from the Volturi. I breathed a sigh of relief as Edward held onto my hand, his fingers grazing against the scar on my wrist. Alice was busy talking to Jasper and explaining what happened to him. I didn't bother to pay attention to her, I focused only on Edward and trying see if this was real at all.

"Would singing make you feel better?" Edward whispered to me.

"I hate music," I told him. "I haven't sung at note since you left."

"Does it have anything to do with what Aro said about you being mad at me?"

"Beyond that," I whispered. I turned to the stewardess and ordered a coke. There was no way I was going to fall asleep. I'm going to be awake for this one. Edward had a lot of explaining to do. When I accepted the coke, I turned to Edward and had a decision made. "Well, I might enjoy it now. There is one song I have in mind."

Edward kissed my forehead, purposely avoiding my lips. I don't think I could handle a kiss on the lips right now, not from him. "Sing it for me," he whispered into my ear.

And so I did, I sang what I felt.

"It's just one more day. No one said there would be rain again. Won't blame it on myself. I'll blame it on the weatherman. Get away for a while. Here I am out on my own again. Won't blame it on myself. I'll blame it on the weatherman."

"Standing on the shore. Calling out your name. I was here before. I could see your face. Only clouds will see, tears are in my eyes, empty like my heart. Why did you say goodbye."

"The rain goes on, on and on again. The rain goes on, on and on again."

"Alone I can hear. Hear our song. Playing for me again. Won't blame it on myself. Just blame it on the weatherman."

"Standing on the shore. Calling out your name. I was here before. I could see your face. Only clouds will see, tears are in my eyes, empty like my heart. Why did you say goodbye."

"The rain goes on, on and on again. The rain goes on, on and on again."

"Maybe it's too late. Maybe it's too late to try again. Maybe I can't pray. Maybe I can't wait. Maybe I can't blame the weatherman"

"The rain goes on, on and on again. The rain goes on, on and on again."

"Oh blame it on the weatherman."

When I finished singing, I gave off a soft sigh as I rested my head on Edward's shoulder. My mind felt drained from the singing as I succumbed to weakness. He didn't say anything about my song. He only held onto me, while I continued to drink the coke to keep me awake. Nothing he could do would make me fall asleep because I wanted to stay awake for all of this. I wanted to see what would happen.

For the rest of the flight, we stayed silent until we landed in Atlanta. We quickly went to the other end of the airport to catch our flight for Seattle. I was almost like a zombie as we walked across the Edward, I had to cling onto Edward for support and look like an idiot as I did so. People would look occasionally, but they would brush me off. Even when TSA passed by us, Alice came up with a cover story that involved me taking medication that made me a little loopy.

They ignored us after that and we went to our next flight without any more trouble.

I managed to stay awake for that one too. Edward finally mentioned something about the song I sang earlier. He only apologized for leaving me and he left it at that as I rolled my head away from him. I didn't want to think the what if he did stay in Forks question. I didn't want to think about never being close to Jacob or possibly never learning that I was an elf.

We stayed silent again until we landed in Seattle. I followed Edward and Alice to the exit, which was still a struggle for me. I didn't seem as drunk as I did when we left Atlanta, but I still was a mess as we made it to the exit. I was about to wonder what we were going to do about getting back to Forks when I saw them waiting for us.

The entire Cullen Clan was standing by the exit, waiting for us to show.

Esme was the first to come over to us. Her motherly warmth embraced me first, holding me as if her life depended on it. "Thank you for saving my son," she cried to me. "We owe you so much." I felt a smile crack across my face as she said that. Considering everything that they did for me, I figured we were even after all of that.

She broke away from me and hugged Edward, yelling at him for being so reckless. The others began to chuckle at them with Carlisle making his way over to me. "We do owe you so much, Rio," he said, calmly. "You risked a lot by going to the Volturi to save my son, considering everything that happened."

"It's no big deal," I told him.

We all began to walk outside to the cars that were parked out there. Alice took off with Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme. Edward and I were left with Emmett and Rosalie. Rosalie had chosen to stay wait for us outside, while Emmett dragged us over to the car.

"She really is sorry," Edward hissed under his breath. "You don't need to forgive her though."

"I already have," I mumbled into his arm.

The two of us got into the SUV with Emmett getting into the driver's seat. Rosalie was waiting in the passenger seat, her elegant features turning over to look at us. I saw the broken look on her face and her turning away as Edward's muscles tightened for only a moment. It would be a little while before their relationship could be like it was before all of this.

"Rio, I'm sorry for getting you dragged into this," Rosalie said, sincerely. "I didn't think Edward would run to the Volturi like he did."

"Don't worry about it, Rose," I whispered. "It was my turn to rescue Edward anyways."

"Rose," Emmett interfered, "it doesn't count if he isn't coconscious."

"I'm awake!" I said, trying to kick his seat.

There was a soft chuckle that escaped them all, while I gave up my fight. I buried my face into Edward's face again and closed my eyes to get some rest. It was a kinda long drive back to Forks anyways, but I forgot about how fast Emmett loved to drive. Faster than the rest of them that's for sure.

In almost no time, I felt the car come to a stop. I picked my head up and saw that we were at my house now. The front door swung open just as Edward opened the door to help me out. I was already in his arms when Charlie came flying out of there, looking as if he wanted to have a shotgun in his hand.

"Let him go!" Charlie growled once he saw Edward. "You've done enough damage here."

"Stop, dad," I mumbled against Edward with a drunken slur. "Be nice…be nice for now."

"What's the matter with him?" Charlie asked. "What did you do to him?"

"He's just tired," said Edward. "He needs to sleep."

"Don't tell me what I need to do with my son."

"Be nice!" I cried a little louder.

Charlie calmed down a little bit, allowing Edward to take me upstairs to my room where he laid me down on my bed. I completely gave in after that and sunk into a deep sleep. Now, I could finally rest, Edward was safe, I was home, and Charlie was still alive. Things were good for now. I could deal with my boy troubles and Victoria wanting to kill me tomorrow.

* * *

**The Truth:**

_I sat alone in the meadow with my legs crossed as a soft breeze blew against my skin. I looked out to the bright sky and felt its warmth bathing me with life. A happy grin formed on my face as I felt at ease with myself, more so even when I accepted my own death, both times. The wind blew against my skin and hair, providing a refreshing cool tingle that relaxed every part of my body. _

"_You know the truth now," said a deep voice. A figure of light emerged from the meadow and approached me with gentle footsteps. His figure changed until he appeared as a man with a white robe draped around his waist. His muscular torso completely exposed with his silver hair flowing behind the youthful body. "You even appear a little different now. The truth has changed you for the better, Ilario."_

"_Now that I know the truth," I said to the man, "I can see you for what you are, Freyr." _

_The god began to smile as he sat down in front of me. He crossed his legs in a similar manner as I did with his hands resting over his knees. "There is much for me to tell you, but we have only a little bit of time," he said, calmly. "As you are aware, I am Freyr, I am a god. I've been around since ancient times and I will be around until the end of Midgar at Ragnarok."_

"_So how do I fit into all of this?" I asked him. "I'm not part of the end of the world, am I?"_

"_The world will end long after your time and the time of your children," said Freyr. "That is not your concern though. I came to tell you about your elven lineage and what the stars have in store for you." His hand reached out to me, touching me with a cool touch. It was warm and comforting, had he not said he was a god sooner then I would've believed him now. I could feel the ancient, benevolent power behind him with just a single touch. "The Volturi did drive my children away from this world centuries ago. They fled to Alfheim for their own safety, but one elf chose to stay behind in this world. He mated with a mortal woman and bore a son. The elf eventually passed away before his son learned of the blood that ran through his veins. And so the power remained dormant throughout the son's life and it passed down to his daughter who eventually passed it onto her son, which is you."_

"_My mother has elf blood and so did my grandfather?" I whispered. "But how come they never displayed any power? Why me?"_

"_Because a half-elf can only come into their powers when their life is in mortal danger and it must be done so before their seventeenth year of life," said Freyr. "Your own natural habit of getting into trouble loosened the seals, but the day that you met Edward Cullen forced the floodgates to open. Your powers became yours to control the day you first met Edward Cullen."_

"_How do I control them then?" I asked the god. "I don't know where to begin."_

"_Time will help," he said, softly. "Since you are the last of my children on Midgar, I will help you. I will help protect you from the fangs of the Volturi. Sleep well, my son." _

_Freyr leaned in close, kissing me with his magical, godly lips that shattered through every part of my being._

I woke up from the dreamy-vision, feeling groggy as I opened my eyes to see that I was still in my room. At least I did make it back from the Volturi, well, that was if it was real. Had I really went halfway across the world just to save Edward from being killed by the Volturi? Did I come so close to dying once more. Did I really abandon Jacob with the kiss of death?

Did a god really kiss me?

My mind was shot though as I tried to replay everything that happened. It was so hard trying to remember any of it was real though. Even the conversation I had with Freyr on this spiritual plane of existence was difficult for me to try and remember. I wish I could have a better sign, something to prove that this wacky adventure had really happened to me.

That's when I began to feel a cool breeze and a cold hand touching my arm. I turned my body around, seeing that it was Edward laying on the opposite end of the full-sized mattress. Edward looked as if nothing had ever happened, almost like he had never left in the first place. I felt like it was a trick and that these past couple of months never happened, but I could still feel the scars on my heart so I knew it had all been real.

Everything was real. My time as a zombie had really happened. I did form a strong relationship with Jacob as he became a werewolf, I even had sex with him. Victoria did chase me to my death, I did run away to save Edward from the Volturi, and I did have a conversation with a god. I am the last half-elf on Midgar.

"How long have I been sleeping?" I asked him.

"Fifteen hours," he said, softly. "You've only been gone for two days. School starts again for you tomorrow."

"Great," I mumbled into my pillow. "I have a Calculus test to study for and try to pass."

"You fly halfway across the world to save me from the oldest vampires in existence and you're worried more about a Calculus test?" Edward said, a light chuckle escaping him. He shook his head as he scooted closer towards me. His hand on my arm rubbed against the skin with a gentle, cool touch. "You are truly a strange human, Rio Swan. I wouldn't have you any other way."

I huffed at his comment before turning away from him. I pressed my head deeper into the pillow, sinking into it as I avoided the urge to look at his perfect being. "Then why did you leave?" I said to him. "If you loved me so much then why just abandon me? How could you just…not love me then decide that you couldn't live without me?"

The bed shifted as Edward's weight soon left it. I thought he had run away from me again until he reappeared in front of me, kneeling down on the ground as he took hold of my hands. "I'm truly sorry for leaving you the way I did, Rio, but do you truly think that I ever stopped loving you?" he asked. "Rio, the day I left I couldn't stop thinking about you. The only thing that kept me going was that you were safer with me gone and it would be possible for you to find happiness with another. I was stupid for leaving you, but my love for you never wilted. I only love you even more every day I was gone."

"Still," I whispered, avoiding his eyes, "you hurt me a lot. I still can't understand why you left. Why you took everything from me when you did so."

"I didn't want to break your heart," he whispered as he kissed my hands. "I can't begin to understand all the pain I left you with, but I am so sorry and willing to do whatever it takes to make it up to you. Like your birthday presents, they're under your floorboard. I left them there because I couldn't think about just tarring everything away from you."

That was a bit of a relief. Everything was still here with me, it was just buried someplace where I couldn't find it. It was just like my scars that I tried to hide from everyone and everything. They were just buried beneath the surface so I couldn't find it. It made everything seem a little less painful for me.

I still had a lot of hurt in my heart though. This gesture made some of the hurt go away, but it was like an elephant in the room. It wasn't going to go away, not until I could figure out the rest of the problem. I needed to know everything, I had to know everything so I could understand what was going on through that head of his.

"Well, what were you doing while you were gone?" I whispered. "I doubt that you spent the whole time sitting in a dark room by yourself." He stayed silent, his head slumping down the side of my mattress for a moment. I pulled myself up from the bed with his hand still holding onto mine as I looked at his drooping eyes. "You were, weren't you?"

Edward sighed as he pulled himself up a little. He knelt perfectly beside me with his back straightened up as I leaned closer towards him. "Most of the time I was just a pathetic mess," he said, softly. "The rest of the time I spent trying to track. I'm a terrible Tracker. I spent all my time trying to hunt down Victoria, I followed a false trail all the way down to Brazil, while she doubled back and came after you."

"And what did you do when you weren't tracking?" I asked.

"Being a miserable bastard," said Edward. "I was completely useless when I wasn't hunting. I would just sit there like a sack of nothing. I alienated myself from my family. It wasn't the high point of my existence."

"Well, I wasn't much better either," I told him. "I spent months like a zombie until I finally began to snap out of it. It took a lot to get me out of it." There was a soft sigh that escaped me as I leaned closer to Edward. His hands were in mine, his cool fingers grazing against my skin. "Jacob saved me, I've learned to love him for that."

"You're better for trying though, even if you did spend time with a dog," he growled under his breath. "I should've never left. I should've never put you in that kind of danger. I left you in the safety of a pubescent werewolf for goodness's sake! My opinion on Romeo has changed forever. I'm just as pathetic as he was."

It was then that I pulled my hands away from him and ripped myself away from him. I got up from my bed and kept myself away from him, refusing to look him in the eye. "You know, I'm tired of this," I told him. "It pisses me off that the both of you are like this! You're too busy calling each other witch that you fail to see the darkness inside of you. There is evil in the both of you, you're not that different from each other."

"Rio," whispered Edward.

"Hush!" I told him. "There are three things in this world I fear. The last thing I'm afraid of is Victoria, second place goes to the Volturi, and the first thing I'm afraid of is you. The worst that the Volturi and Victoria could do to me is kill me. You could leave me though. You have the power to shatter what's left of my mangled soul. I can't hear you insult Jacob because he was there for me when you weren't, he protected me when you couldn't, and he loved me while you ran from me."

"But who do you love more?" Edward said, softly. "It's obvious that you can't have us both. You'll have to chose between me or Jacob."

"I know that," I told him. "That's why I need to put this to a vote. I know what I can have with Jacob and I know where I stand. You're a different story though. If I'm going to be with you then I need to be with you, forever. I'm going to have to become a vampire if I'm ever going to be with you. This is beyond us now. We need to have a talk with your family."

He was completely silent, awestruck as I grabbed my sweater and opened a window. I raised an eyebrow at him to regain his attention now. He followed my gaze and carried me out the window as we softly landed on the ground.

I climbed onto his back, clinging onto him in a familiar way as he ran across town to the glass house.

* * *

**Vote:**

Their familiar home was filled with undead life once more. Edward carried me to his home with remarkable speed until we reached the grassy path. It already looked neater then it did when I went here on my own a month ago. The lawn was still a mess, but already appeared to have been slowly treated by the care of the Cullens. And from the colossal windows, I could see the house almost filled with everything that belonged to them.

It was almost like they never left.

Edward held the door open for me and began to call out the names of all the house's residents. In less than a second, five vampires emerged from the different corners of the house. The foggy memory I had of them before all this mess began didn't do any of them justice. Even the drunken haze I had at the airport distorted their natural beauty. They all surrounded us, questions appearing on their faces by my sudden appearance.

"Do you all know what happened at Volterra?" I asked. Carlisle mentioned that Alice filled them in on all the details once they arrived to the house. I nodded my head, glad that I could skip over the details of it all. "Then you know that I'm half-elf, the last elf on Earth." I sighed, softly, before taking a step forward with my eyes looking down at my hands. This was the tricky part, how was I going to explain this one to them. "Alright, so we all know that I'm not going to live for long. Whether it is Victoria, the Volturi, old age, or I trip onto a rock, I will die eventually. I have to make a choice though. I love Edward and he is loves me too, but I also have feelings for someone else. If I do decide to be with Edward then I want to give myself up fully to him, I want to make this permanent. I want to become a vampire."

"But this all involves you," I continued, "so let me finish before saying anything. By being a part of Edward's life, I'll be part of yours. So I want to put it to a vote. I want to know how you all feel about me becoming a part of your family, forever."

I nodded my head, signaling to them that I was done speaking.

"Well," Esme decided to go first, "I already think of you as my son. I'd say yes."

"I'm going to say Hell Yes!" shouted Emmett.

Jasper took a step forward, ripping himself away from Alice for a moment. With the painful look on his face, I thought he would surely say no. "I'm saying yes too," Jasper said, confidently. "Forgive me, Rio, for what happened on your birthday. I feel truly terrible about what happened. I'd be honored to have you as my brother."

"Me too," Alice said, latching herself onto Jasper once more.

Rosalie frowned as she approached me next. She walked all the way up to me, despite the grave look on Edward's face as he walked towards the staircase. Her hands touched mine and gently lifted them up for a moment. "I'm sorry too, Rio, but I have to say no," she whispered. "I wish someone could've voted no for me while I was still human. This is a very big decision you are making and one you shouldn't make without deep consideration. But if you chose to be like us in the end, I'll be happy to have you as a brother."

"Thank you, Rosalie," I said, smiling up to her.

She smiled back at me before releasing my hands and walking over to Emmett who hugged her.

Carlisle was the last to go. He began to take a few steps closer towards me when Edward picked his head up, glaring at him. "You can't," Edward said, loudly. "You can't make him into one of us. He shouldn't have to be like us."

"I still say yes, Edward," Carlisle said, deeply. "You are my son and you are so determined not to live without Rio so I say yes. I already think of Rio as one of my own. I'll change him when he is ready to."

"Then its decided," I said, looking up to Edward now. "That's two no's against six yes's. The majority wins, but don't worry, Edward, I still haven't decided what road I'm going to walk."

I smiled at them all, looking at just what might be my future family. No, they already were my family whether I chose to be with Edward or not. As far as I was concerned I was a member of the Cullen family even without the fangs and the diamond skin.

They each began to part ways again, returning to what they were doing before we arrived. I looked up to Edward who was still on the staircase and held my hand out to him. Without any hesitation on his part, he came to me and guided me out of the house. His hand laced its way around mine as we took our first steps out of the house.

We walked down the small stream that ran passed the house until we reached the road. I didn't feel like rushing back home yet, especially since I would be grounded for the rest of my life. It was still dark enough where Charlie would still be sleeping and Edward's shine couldn't be seen. This was the perfect time for us to talk about what may or may not happen.

"You could still be human even if you're with me," Edward said. "There is no need for you to change. I'll be with you always."

"Even when I'm eighty?" I asked him. "What about how I feel? I'll grow to be all old and wrinkly while you remain beautiful forever. Does that seem fair to you?"

"It is the right thing to do," he told me. "What about Charlie and Reneé? If you become like us then you'll have to cut all ties with them. Everyone you know and love will eventually die. You will live on forever, but your family will wilt away to nothing."

That would be painful to see. Not to mention that it would suck terribly.

"I'm willing to face all of that," I confessed, "as long as you'll be with me for it. I want you to be the one to change me though, not Carlisle."

A smile crept up his face as his hand clenched onto mine tighter. It wasn't painful yet, thankfully, since he wasn't using his full strength. "How about we wait until you're twenty then," he said, calmly. "That should be more than enough time for you."

"Hell no!" I said, nudging him in the ribs. "If you get to be a teenager forever then so will I! You have until the day before I turn twenty. It's bad enough that I'm already creeping up to be older then you."

He stopped walking and I nearly slipped when he did so. I forgot how statuesque vampires became when they stopped moving. I nearly lost my arm because of the whiplash. When I spun back around to figure out what happened, I noticed the thoughtful look on his face.

It almost reminded him of when he left, so I was worried by what was brewing in that head of his. I almost began to wish that I could read his mind, but I refrained from doing so. I didn't want to intrude on anyone's privates thoughts, besides, he would tell me when he was ready.

And he did.

Edward drew in closer towards me and held onto my other hand. He leaned his head against mine with the cool touch making me blush as he did so. "Alright, I'll turn you. It'll be whenever you want, but I have only one condition," he said, softly. I smiled now; he was becoming a little more reasonable. I was liking were this so far when he pulled away and dropped down to one knee. "Marry me."

"What?" I said, pulling away from him.

"That's my condition," he told me. "Before I turn you, you have to marry me. You want to give me your soul and I ask that you join me in holy matrimony."

"Please tell me you're joking, right?" I asked. "Marriage is a nightmare for me. Just look what happened to my parents."

"Then I guess you're staying human then," he said, smiling as he walked ahead of me.

I growled, stomping my foot down on the ground. I spun around and began to chase after him with thoughts of a wedding on my mind. Oh God, could I really agree to something like that? Could I really marry someone?

This was just weird. I was totally willing to become a vampire, but I was far more skittish about becoming a vampire. Then again that could be the guy brain kicking in. The guy in me didn't want to be married, period. It was cool though to become a vampire. I was more then willing to become one of the walking undead even though I was already half-elf.

"I'll take it to consideration," I said, finally catching up to Edward. "That just means I need to decide something a little sooner."

"Take your time," Edward told me as he began to carry me again. "I'm in no hurry. I want you to make sure you know that you're doing the right thing."

"Right," I said before he began to run.

Edward rushed me back home and carried me up to my room before saying goodbye. He left me alone in my room just as the sun slowly began to creep up on us. I sighed as I gently closed my window just as I heard Charlie's alarm go off.

It looked like I was going to have to deal with daddy dearest a little sooner then I wanted to. I gave off a heavier sigh as I turned to my closet to grab some clothes to change into. I was in desperate need for a shower, plus, I was going to have a big talk with Charlie soon enough.

And it was closer then I had originally expected. The moment I opened my door, Charlie was already standing there ready to grill me on what happened. I forgot to even ask Edward what the official story was, but I could by the look on Charlie's face that he didn't have a clue what happened.

So this one was all up to me to fix.

"It was a life or death situation," I said, calmly. "Edward thought I killed myself when I jumped off a cliff so he was about to go all Romeo on us." The look of anger on Charlie's face shifted to one of confusion. I had forgotten that I hadn't explained the cliff-diving thing to him. "It wasn't suicide, it was cliff-diving! Kids on La Push do it all the time. Anyways, I left with Alice to talk some sense into Edward and go hey I'm still alive!"

I snuck away from Charlie with my clothes still in hand. I didn't want to give him a chance to speak since I had a lot of things that I needed to say. "Now, you can ground me for as long as you like because I totally deserve it," I told him. "What you can't do though is keep me away from Edward. He's here now and like it or not he's a part of my life. You should understand that better than anyone. Even though you divorced mom, she's still a part of you. Why? Well, the first reason is because she was your first love and you still love her even though she's married to Phil. Plus, you have me, because I'm your child, you two will forever have to be involved in each others' lives in some shape or form."

"Long story short, you can't hate Edward or keep me away from him," I said, calmly. "Only I have the power to kick him out of my life now. I love you dad, but this is a problem that you're going to have to deal with. Kill me later though, I'm in desperate need of a shower. I'll see you in a few minutes."

I ended it by closing the door on him and rushed to turn on the hot water as I stripped out of my clothes. I climbed into the hot shower with the water pounding away at my skin to breathe some life into me. It was the steam and hotness of it all that made me remember him.

Thoughts of Jacob began to surround me as I remembered that last time I was with him. He was in so much pain when I left, unable to understand what I was doing. I had to leave though, it wasn't fair to let Edward die just because he thought I was dead. No, I did the right thing when I left, but I wasn't so sure about how eager I was about this whole vampire thing.

Was becoming a vampire a metaphor for my escaping the feelings I had for Jacob? Was I so conflicted with myself that I needed to make a desperate, eternal change to keep myself away? I was just so messed up in the head that I couldn't understand what I should be doing.

Jacob was amazing to me though when Edward was gone. He took care of me, he loved me, and all I did was push him away once Edward came crawling back. This wasn't fair to him at all. Jacob deserved so much better then what I was.

But did I really want to toss him aside for Edward? If I went with Jacob then I could stay what I am and keep my family. I would never have to become a vampire. I would be constantly protected by Jacob, but I would be keeping him away from something else though. I would be keeping him away from something I knew would become a trouble in the future.

Jacob wanted a family…and that was something I'm incapable of giving him.

What should I do?

Who should I be with?

* * *

**Epilogue – Treaty: **

Time didn't help me think at all about what was going on with my life. The only thing I did know was that I was confused beyond belief by what was happening. Even with the school year over and summer in full swing, I still at a lost about what I should do about my love life.

After the immediate hell blew over, things seemed to return almost the way it was before the Cullens left. Granted, I was grounded where I couldn't leave the house other than to go to school or work or designated places escorted with Charlie. At least Charlie seemed to understand that it was better to let Edward in the house, with his supervision, then having him constantly sneak in. We respected Charlie's wishes and even kept our distance even after the seven-thirty curfews that he had established.

I was surviving school and was back on track to graduation with honors the next year. My grades remained level enough where college was becoming a serious option for me once more. Edward was still pushing for me to stay being a human for the rest of my life. He was forcing me to sign applications to every university in the country, including the Ivy League. There was no way in hell that I was going to get accepted into Harvard, Yale, or Brown, but he still forced me to apply anyways. That scored him a few points with Charlie, which got us an extra thirty minutes back in the beginning of June.

Now in July, after the incident in March, I had yet to speak with Jacob Black. I would try and call him every day after Edward left when it was safest, but he never answered my calls. I tried the cell phone that I knew he never used and I even talked to Billy a few times. Billy played nice despite all the mess I made, I was thankful for that, but I knew that even his patience was beginning to wine thin. So…I spaced my calls with a day between them then two then a week until I stopped trying all together.

The emptiness I felt from not being around Jacob was clashing with the complete feeling I had by being around Edward. The two sides of my heart wanted nothing to do with each other. I couldn't associate myself with both of them. It had to be one or the other. It hurt me a lot that it was coming down to this, no matter how hard I tried to at least get Edward to believe that Jacob wasn't a bad guy. Edward was a little more willing to listen; I couldn't even get Jacob to pick up a damn phone.

I was just a miserable mess and that's how I was going to spend my summer.

I couldn't wait until it was September so I could have school to distract me.

June just sucked.

It had just stopped raining when I got out of work that day. Mike had just walked in to cover for the rest of the evening so that meant I was going to go back into lockdown mode soon. My friends took some pity on me, especially after they heard how I ran off to save Edward's life. They weren't too surprised either by the distance I kept with Edward. I still didn't feel quite right when he was around. His touch just reminded me too much of the time he was gone and the possibility that it could happen at any time.

So I kept a shield up around my heart to brace myself for the worst. I wouldn't allow myself to become a zombie; I couldn't do that to Charlie twice.

When I stepped out to the wet sidewalk, Edward's car was parked in the first parking spot there. I entered the car since he was my ride home and he held my hand up to kiss it with his icy lips. I cracked a smile at him, but my mind was thinking about Jacob at the time. I found one of his shirts buried in my closet for whatever reason. I had probably borrowed it when I was a little extra cold. Whatever the reason, it was enough to resurface a lot of the pain I had from my lack of contact with Wolf Boy.

"Tell me what's bothering you," Edward asked as he drove me home.

"Jacob," I said, simply. "It's hard not being able to talk to him. It would make the whole deciding life or undead deal a little easier if I could just speak to him. I already know his opinion on the matter, but I just need to spend some time with him so I can know what I want to do."

"I wish I could help," he said, barely loud enough for me to hear.

He was only trying to be nice. I knew that he wanted me to have nothing to do with Jacob. He was just trying to be polite for me so I wouldn't yell at him like the last time. It made things a little easier on me though. At least I know that my potential future husband would pretend to care about things that mattered to me. He would care about the conflicting feelings that were boiling over in my heart.

We kept our silence after that, neither one of us budging to say a word to each other. I wouldn't even know where to begin if I tried to speak. My thoughts were dancing with Jacob and that was a taboo subject for Edward. He wouldn't care to hear anything about him, but he understood that it was bothering me a lot. It was all bothering me. Why did he have to bring up that damn proposal in the first place? It only made things even worse for me.

Edward started to slow down, which was very much unlike him. I only noticed this because I actually was paying attention to the rolling scenery since I got used to his driving. I began to straighten myself up just as he came to a stop not too far away from my house.

"You're about to be very mad," Edward said, softly. "Jacob did something very bad now Charlie is out to get you."

"What happened?" I asked him. "Is Jacob still here?"

"He'll wait for us in the woods," said Edward. "Charlie is itching to chew you out."

Great, just what I needed. I finally got a chance to talk to Jacob now he did something to get Charlie pissed off at me. Just what could the big dummy do to piss of my daddy now?

I told Edward to keep driving and park in the driveway. With any luck, I could see the damage that Jacob did so I knew how to react to Charlie. However, nothing could've prepared me for the mess that I saw parked on the driveway. Right between Charlie's cruiser and the Beast was a bright-red motorcycle. It was the same motorcycle that Jacob rebuilt for me and here it was, sitting on my driveway for Charlie to see.

Holy fucking shit, I am going to kill you, Jacob Black!

Edward parked in the curb with my door pointed towards the house. I told him to sit still as I jumped out of the car, realizing that Charlie was going to want to talk right now. So I decided to experiment a little with my supernatural abilities because I had a much bigger fish to fry. There was a bolt of inspiration that came in from the day that Edward saved my life, which I knew would save my skin was once more.

"Ilario Miguel Swan!" Charlie shouted as he stormed out of the house. "You are grounded for the rest of your life, do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," I said, still fuming because of Jacob.

I raised my hands up and flicked the fingers forward. There was sparks of magic that fluttered from the palms of my hands that began to dance around Charlie before he could even catch wind of it. Charlie's entire body stopped moving and he was trapped in a frozen state that took a bit of energy out of me.

A smile crept up my face as I turned back around to see Edward coming out from the Volvo. His face was locked with a surprised gasp as he began to creep up a little closer to me. It was obvious that he was shocked by what I did, so was I, but it was by far the coolest thing I've done yet with my elf powers.

A boy could get used to all these supernatural powers.

"Take me to Jacob," I told him. "I have a date to kick his sorry ass."

"Follow me then," Edward said, not blinking at me.

I followed him into the woods once more. There was a bit of Déjà vu that entered my mind as I remembered the last time we did this. He broke up with me and left me a complete mess. That would happen this time though. Edward was here to stay, but Jacob was about to be a different story. He totally screwed up any chance he had with me now. I was going to make him pay dearly for ruining my relationship with my father.

There was no point in hiding the anger I had as ventured into the outskirts of the woods. Edward took me into a mini clearing to see Jacob standing on top of a tree stub. Now my memory didn't fail Jacob at all. He was still as handsome and muscular as ever, well, maybe a few inches taller and a few pounds of muscle added to his colossal being. Not much had changed about the shirtless, bare foot, and shorts-wearing Jacob Black except that he was a far bigger jackass now.

"You are dead meat, Jacob!" I shouted at him. "Nice going now I'm grounded for life! I was already grounded until next school year, but you effectively put me on lockdown for the rest of my life! You've earned yourself the title of biggest douche bag on the planet! You beat out the Situation, congratulations!"

"Rio, calm down," warned Edward.

"I didn't know," I heard Jacob save over Edward. I pulled myself away from Edward's protection to get closer to Jacob who tensed as Edward came closer. Jacob was growling at him now, his brown eyes losing their boyish innocence at once. "I thought you were staying away because of the leech."

"He wasn't aware that Charlie banned you from the leaving the house," Edward finished. "He thought it was me who forbid you from doing so."

"Get out of my head, leech!" growled Jacob.

I rolled my eyes. Man, I chose to fall in love with two arrogant guys who just so happened to be endowed with a butt load of supernatural abilities. This was going to make this even more difficult for me to deal with. If it wasn't Jacob's obvious prejudice then it was Edward butting in where his mind reading didn't belong.

Jacob eventually recovered from the intrusion in his head as he jumped from the stump. The twigs beneath him snapped from the sudden pressure of the impact. He walked across the small space between us until he reached me but his eyes were focused on Edward.

Edward shared a similar, intense glare that screamed testosterone fight fest. I could only roll my eyes again as I widened the gap between us a little more. What little hope I had for them both was slowly beginning to dwindle down to nothing as my own frustration grew.

"Listen leech," spoke Jacob, "I only came here to remind you of the rules of the treaty. We can't hunt Victoria on your side and you can't hunt her on our end. There's also another clause that you need to remember just in case you were getting any ideas with Rio. You're forbidden from biting a human, it includes a bite to change someone, not just feeding."

"What?" I suddenly said, snapping my neck around to look at him. "That's none of your business, Jacob!"

"It is my business!" Jacob said, firmly. "I have to protect the people from vampires. We wouldn't want another one of their kind running around, completely out of control. I have to make sure that you stay human somehow, even if it means you being grounded for the rest of your life."

"You still have no business getting involved with my life!" I shouted at him, all reason snapping away from me. "You have no business making these decisions for me. I'm capable of doing that on my own."

Edward crossed the divide and grabbed onto my head. He was beginning to shake his head just as a loud growl was beginning to escape Jacob. "You need to calm down, Rio," said Edward. "I need to get you out of here before it's too late."

"Let him go!" Jacob shouted, his muscles quivering as he said so. "I would never hurt Rio! Not like you did, you monster!"

"The only monster I see here is you, Jacob!" Edward snapped back, fangs flying.

And that was all that needed to be done to pull the trigger. Jacob exploded as he quickly transformed into a wolf. The giant, russet-brown wolf took form as a beastly howl ripped through his jaw. The powerful animal stood before us, growling as Edward continued to keep me away from him.

Edward jumped in front of me and I briefly caught sight of his eyes changing. The black pupils took center stage as Edward took a fighting stance against Wolf-Jacob. But as he did so, my mind flashed back to the vision I had of them over a year ago. I could see them killing each other. I knew that this was where it was going to boil down to.

So I jumped in between them both right before they sprang after each other. I kept my body between them both, not bothering to consider the danger I was about to be in. I knew that I had to keep them away from each other. It was the only way to keep them both safe. I needed to keep them from killing each other.

Power began to ripple throughout my being, a power I never felt before. The woods gave me strength, allowing a glow to escape my body and overwhelm the raw strength of my monster love interests. Edward and Jacob flew across the clearing with their strength left them as mine began to wane as well. I collapsed to my knees as I got sight of Jacob turning human once more and Edward's pupils change back to hazel.

"That's enough!" I yelled at them both, pulling myself together. Edward and Jacob tried to help me, but I pushed them both away from me. There was too much anger boiling up inside my body at this point that I could no longer contain. If they couldn't play nice with each other then neither would I. "You obviously can't stop hating each other even for my sake. Guess what boys, I'm through with it! I'm sick of being stuck in the middle of your big dick show!"

"Rio," Edward and Jacob said at the same time.

"No!" I shouted, loud enough to make the birds fly away. "That's it! I'm sick of all this fighting. I'm sick of all this hypocrisy! But most of all, I'm sick of the both of you! If you can't even act civilized with each other then neither one of you deserves to be with me. You're both a part of my life, but you just can't handle it. I'm not going to be the rope in your tug of war match! I'm done with it. Most importantly, I'm done with the both of you. I want nothing to do with either one of you. I want the both of you to stay the hell away from me."

And I left them with the cruelest words that I could possibly fling at them. I turned around, making my way out of the woods by myself, not giving a damn about the hearts I left broken behind me. They had left their scars on me and pulled me by arms for the last time. I was done with it, everything had reached the boiling point.

I never asked for them to like each other, I only asked for tolerance, but they couldn't give me that. Until the day comes that they can tolerate each other then they'll never have anything else to do with me. I'm done with all of this. Edward, you left me with a destroyed heart and made me think that you stopped loving me. Jacob, you saved my life then betrayed me at every turn and left me there trying to make things right with you. I don't know how I'll ever be able to forgive either one of you.

All I knew was that I needed some time away, I was through with boys for now.

I needed to be on my own, I needed to reinvent myself.

A new Rio was born today.


	11. Eclipse I

Author's Note: Well, here is the first awesome chapter for Eclipse. I hope you all like it. There is going to be a lot of Rio personality juggling because he's going to really have to think about who he loves most. Haha. Well, that's all I have to say about that. And for those of you who are interested, in April, I'm going to start a Power Rangers fan fic. So if you're interested, keep your eyes open for that one. It's called Power Rangers: Angel Force. So yeah. Read and review, lovelies!

PS! Those of you having trouble updating your stories, when you get the error page look at the URL and switch the word properties with content! It works!

**Ultimatum:**

Whoever said time heals on wounds was on fucking crack when they came up with that. Almost a year has passed since I issued my kiss of death to Edward and Jacob, and things only got horribly worse before getting even remotely better. I tossed the boys out of my life and I got to focus on more important issues like my upcoming graduation. But there only seemed to be worse then good that seemed to pass from this.

I felt terribly alone since I shun out the moon and sun out of my life. I walked a life where there was no sun to keep me warm or a moon to guide me in the dark. Despite the drastic improvement in my GPA, I felt terribly empty for a long time. Even though I knew that I made the right call by kicking them both away, I had to deal with the ramifications of it all as I stood in my kitchen.

The only thing that gave me some normalcy was the extended grounding sentence I received because of dumb Jacob. The original six months sentence extended to a year of torture. Charlie's sentence was severe and wouldn't let up until I would leave for college, but he did seem to loosen the reins since I had no interactions with Edward.

Things were awkward between us to say the least. Not between Charlie and me, but with Edward. It was far from what we had before he left, even before I blew up that summer. At school, I tried to be as civilized as possible in front of everyone else, but I would stray away from him whenever possible. I was still struggling to forgive him for everything that happened. I couldn't deal with the fact that he was so dead-set to being a jerk like Jacob was behaving too. I even strayed away from Alice and the other Cullens as much as possible.

October changed all of that with Edward being the first to cave in. He easily broke into my room at night and begged for my forgiveness. Our time apart had been hell on him. He was finally able to understand it was his own fault that I turned to Jacob in the first place and that it wasn't his fault for becoming a wolf either. He knew that it hurt me to seem them so antagonistic towards each other. He promised that he would at least try to be remotely civilized and sensitive to how I felt about the situation. I forgave him that night and we grew close, but still distant compared to how we used to be.

As for Jacob, well, I caved in on that one. I tried to get in touch with him after Edward came to my window. My phone calls resumed with renewed ferocity for a while, but Billy Black was unable to get through to his thick headed son. Jacob made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with me so long as Edward was a part of my life. The letter in my hands clearly said so as the violent scratches and scattered ink spots barely masked the cruel words underneath. I knew remembered how "powerful" Jacob was since the last time I saw him, but I was afraid to think of just how strong he grew now as the months progressed with his powers having the time to grow stronger.

I folded the letter in my hand, trying not to think about just how badly I missed Jacob. I stuffed it into my pocket to hide the pain as I began to use telekinesis to stir the tea in my cup. Jacob wasn't the only one whose supernatural abilities grew stronger. Thanks in part to finally learning my mystical origins; the elf-part of me grew stronger as the days progressed. My magic didn't task me as much, especially since I learned from Freyr that being around the woods gave me control over my abilities. Nature connected me to my true potential so that I eventually learned to control to this magic as it grew stronger and stronger by the day. The god helped guide me when I slept as he brought me to a spiritual plane to train. In the physical world, Edward would help me put some of those skills to the test.

I was growing confident with my abilities so much so that I didn't fear being on my own any longer. I now had the power to stand up for myself. I could fend off any attacker and I had the potential to protect my father from the supernatural nightmares that would crawl into Forks.

Speaking of Charlie, I wondered what secrets he had hidden. It was no secret that he spent a lot of time with La Push since Harry passed on a year ago. Billy and him became good friends again, despite the obvious animosity brewing with Jacob. It wasn't just that though, I knew that Charlie was spending a lot of time around Sue Clearwater, Harry's widow. That worried me a little as their "friendship" grew stronger, especially since there was the matter of Leah and Seth to be considered. I didn't need any more bad blood with anyone else from La Push.

I gave out a heavy sigh as I pulled the spoon from the cup and raised the tea up to my lips. I took a soothing sip when I remembered just why I was really in the kitchen in the first place. My nose took in the scent of something burning so I sprang at once to the microwave before it was too late.

Foolishly, Charlie had put a jar of spaghetti sauce into the microwave. I pulled out just before it was too late and he destroyed our poor microwave. Remind me again why I allowed Charlie into the kitchen? Why did I bother giving him cooking lessons when this man was so tragically hopeless when it came to cooking?

"What did I do wrong?" my dad asked from the stove.

"Metal doesn't mix with the microwave," I told him, holding up the lid. I popped the top off and poured the sauce into a bowl then put that back in the microwave to cook a little. Charlie wasn't quite ready to use the stove yet since he wasn't that good with meat. The man knew his way around the grill, but he couldn't handle a kitchen, which was disappointing.

"I'm guessing you want to check the noodles then," he said, softly.

Out of fear and curiosity, I glided over to the stove. I grabbed a spatula and began to fix the mess he made there too. "A word to the wise, it helps if you stir," I told him. "Seriously dad, I'm amazed how you never burned down the house before I showed up. How you nourished yourself with somewhat healthy foods is beyond me."

"You faith in me is outstanding, Rio," Charlie grumbled as he took a sip from his beer.

I could only laugh as I helped Charlie in fixing the mess he made. I appreciated the gesture of him trying to learn to cook, but it was clear that I was the only one who should be allowed in the kitchen. In no time flat, we were able to fix dinner up where it would be possible to eat without any worries of food poisoning. Charlie seemed happy enough that we were able to eat his dinner instead of resorting to eat pizza like last week when I tried to teach him to make fried chicken. That turned out to be a bloody, salmonella nightmare that I was happy we managed to avoid before it was too late.

We sat down at the table with what I could salvage from Charlie's terrible cooking. We ate in silence for the first couple of bites and bit down on my tongue how disgusting it tasted just to be polite to Charlie. Thankfully, he broke the silence though as he dropped his fork in the half-eaten bowl of pasta with a disgusted look on his face.

"Clearly I need more supervision," Charlie mumbled. "It looks like I won't be preparing Sue a romantic dinner anytime soon."

"So then there is something going on between you two," I said, finally hearing the truth from him. I had a strong feeling that Charlie was dating Sue or at least trying to because of all the time he spent at La Push. It didn't hurt that Edward's mind reading abilities helped to pick out where Charlie would disappear to.

Obviously, Charlie didn't mean to blurt that one out just yet. He quickly took a bite of his pasta to distract him from having to answer my question. I rolled his eyes at the attempt to hide from me as I kicked his leg under the table. This fishy wasn't going to be getting off the hook that easily, I wanted to hear some answers and I wanted them now.

Charlie sighed as he dropped the fork back onto the bowl. He scooted his chair a little closer before reaching out to grab onto my hands, holding them with his rough grip. "Listen Rio, I do like Sue a lot and she feels the same about me. I've been friends with the Clearwaters for years, it does feel wrong though to like Sue the way I do since Harry was a good friend of mine. But I know in the end that Harry would want us all to be happy, right?" he said. I nodded my head in agreement with him. That seemed to be good enough for Charlie as he continued his point. "I'm beginning to understand what you're going through with Edward and Jacob, kind of. I understand that you're torn between the two, it's not fair for me to continue punishing you for that."

"Really?" I asked. So far, I liked where this confession was going.

"Yeah," he said, softly. "So, I'm ending your sentence right now. You're a freeman, free to leave the walls of the house like a normal teenager." Oh happy day! I really loved where the confession went. I was finally no longer grounded; I could hear the hallelujah chorus going off in my head. "There is one thing I ask of you though."

"What's that?" I asked. "I'm sensing an ultimatum here."

"Its not really an ultimatum, drama queen," Charlie huffed. "Its just something I want you to consider. I know you like Edward a lot, but I don't want you to forget your other friends. I want you to try and balance your life out and make room for the other people in your life. If Edward were to take off again, well, I think you won't be so devastated if you had more people in your life."

"He's not going anywhere," I said, firmly. I didn't even want to think about the devastating scars left behind from last year. As far as I was concerned that part of last year never happened. It was just one big blur. The only thing that mattered was when I started to focus on Jacob and onward. "I get what you mean though." Don't think I didn't notice that dirty scowl you were giving me, Charlie Swan! "You might be right."

"Alright, there's that and I really think you should try and see Jacob," Charlie said. That's where the ultimatum came in, even if he wasn't willing to call it that. I knew there was going to be a big clause in our contract and here it was, Wolf Boy was butting in. "Look Rio, I get that you're really mad at him, but Jacob is hurting a lot. From what Billy's told and what I saw, Jacob is going through some serious depression. He was there for you when you were a zombie, I think its only fair that you make some effort to be there for Jacob."

"You know its not like that, dad," I said, calmly. "You know I want to be part of Jacob's life, but he's made it clear that so long as I even talk to Edward that he wants nothing to do with me. He's just too stubborn to even try to act civilized for once. At least Edward's willing to pretend to be nice about Jacob whenever I'm around."

"Can you blame the guy?" Charlie said. "Just try, Rio."

I couldn't, but it was going to be tricky…

So as Charlie went to the sink to drop off our nightmare of a dinner, I tried to sponge away all the thoughts of Jacob. I didn't want to think about how he was hurting and depressed without me around. I wasn't the one to be blamed. Its Jacob's fault that he's depressed, not mine. He doesn't want to play nice so I don't want to risk any fights breaking out because of that. He just can't understand that I can't cut Edward out of my life like he meant nothing.

But I couldn't cut Jacob out either. Damn it, Rio! Why did you have to get yourself sunk into so much boy trouble? Gay guys kill to at least have one guy who actually likes him, you have two and they're going to kill each other to win you over. Why me? Was my elven blood that seductive to men that they can't help but want to have me?

From what I researched on elves, that was true.

Charlie interrupted my thoughts though as he dropped a big letter in front of me. I looked up towards him to see what this was about, while he tried to hide a growing smile on his face. "This came in for you today," he said, calmly. "It's from a university."

I glanced at it to see that it was from the university I applied to up in Alaska. I lifted the envelope up to open it, only to see that it had already been torn by somebody else. I raised an eyebrow up, glancing over at Charlie as he hid his face behind a beer. "Well, I'm ashamed at you, Chief Swan," I said, softly. "You are aware that opening someone else's mail is a federal offense?"

"You're my only kid and it's from university," Charlie said, walking back, "I think they'll make an exception for me."

I only rolled my eyes before pulling a hefty packet out with a letter in front. That was good news, everyone knew that the big envelope meant that you got accepted. "Congratulations Ilario Swan," I said, cheerfully. "It looks like I've been accepted to university. That makes what, six out of fourteen? That's not a bad score."

"Especially since one of them was Stanford," Charlie said as he sat down beside me. "I'm proud of you, kid. But don't think you need to go to remote schools because they're cheaper. Between your mom and I, we can afford to send you somewhere good. Plus, you did qualify for enough loans to pay for school."

"College is expensive, dad, even with loans," I reminded him. "I'm just trying to weigh in all my options. Plus, you should save your money! Who knows, Sue may decide that she likes you enough to remarry you."

That made Charlie blush a little, which I was amazed that my father could do. I knew Renée was a big blusher, but getting Charlie to turn red was nearly impossible. He struggled to recompose himself by taking in another sip from his beer. "And that doesn't have anything to do with where Edward is going, does it?" he said, regaining his cool. Oh, I just loved how I was turning my father into an alcoholic.

"Don't be so suspicious just because he got accepted into all the schools I applied to," I said, trying to laugh it off. "You need to put that cop brain to bed, dad. Or at least drink another beer before Edward gets offended by all of this hostility. Remember, flu season is getting closer and his dad is a doctor."

With that said, the doorbell began to ring. Charlie pushed me back down to sit as he walked off to get it. I didn't even bother to wonder who that was, nor did Charlie as he opened the door. His relaxed, melodic voice pierced through the airwaves, while Charlie grumbled back a response. It would be a long time before Charlie started to like Edward again, but I'm totally willing to wait.

That is, if I did decide that I wanted to be with Edward.

And speak of the devil, Edward glided into the kitchen until he was sitting down my side. I hesitated for a second as he leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. I was hesitating a lot more whenever I was around him for many reasons. The first being that Charlie was not happy in my choice of guys and second was that I didn't feel just right kissing Edward anymore. I just felt empty whenever I actually kissed him-kissed him. They didn't feel the same as they used to.

Edward didn't seem to mind though since he understood that I was carrying a lot more baggage now. He stayed patient with me though, which I was grateful for. "Guess what I have for you," he said, dropping more applications on the table. How did I miss seeing that shit load? Leave it to Edward Cullen to find loopholes and extensions with every university in the country. It was already so late into the year that it was pointless to apply to anywhere else.

"No more!" I said, pushing the applications away. "You're only killing trees since most of these applications are electronic now! And, I've already been accepted into six really good schools."

"Six?" Edward said, raising an eyebrow. He played the curious part for Charlie, but I could already see the twinkle in his eyes. He already heard the entire conversation I had with Charlie, probably back all the way to where I salvaged dinner. I prayed though that he didn't hear the bits about Jacob. I didn't want to create any unnecessary hostility, especially since I was feeling guilty enough for not being there. "Who replied to you this time?"

I smiled, deciding to keep playing the role since Charlie was lingering in the kitchen still. Despite my newfound freedom, I knew that Charlie wasn't about to budge so quickly. "Let's just say that Sarah Palin needs to move on over," I said, chuckling a little. "I got accepted to Alaska. That makes six!"

"Well, I'm glad you can count," he said, laughing. "I just got my acceptance from Alaska today too."

"Ah," I only faked the surprise as Charlie finally took the hint and left.

Once he was gone, I pushed the applications onto Edward's lap without hesitating at all. I got up from the chair and ran my hands through his bronze hair for a second. "Recycle those," I told him. "Save the trees that give me strength."

Edward smirked as he followed me to the fridge as I searched for something to eat. I could see some lunch meat, cheese, and a tomato hiding in there. "So how goes the being grounded deal?" he said, leaning against my back. Even with all the clothes he wore, his cold skin seemed to pierce through all of that, going through the light layers I wore too.

"Well, I'm so over being grounded," I laughed, retrieving my new dinner. "Charlie ungrounded me today. I'm a freeman as of forty minutes ago."

"That's great news," he said, humoring me. "Alice is in desperate need of a shopping buddy since Rose is away. She's planning a trip to the city before graduation."

A trip to the city did sound nice, but before I had the chance to say anything, Charlie opened his big mouth. Charlie came storming into the kitchen without even thinking twice about it and gave out a deep no. I was about to argue with him about being ungrounded now, but I decided to hold my tongue since I didn't want to get grounded again.

"You're not going anywhere near Seattle, Rio," Charlie said, firmly. "There are too many missing people and homicides going on right now. It's not safe for you to be there, especially with Alice. It would be too easy for someone to attack the two of you."

I wanted to laugh at Charlie, but I had to remember that he knew nothing about what we really were. I could handle any attacker with all the supernatural magic I was carrying and Alice was a freaking vampire who could see the future. Between the two of us, any attacker would be done for if they even looked at us funny.

Edward gave his answer before I could speak to my father though. Jesus, why was everyone cutting me off today? Can't a boy get a word in? "Of course not, Mr. Swan," Edward said, politely. "I wouldn't want Rio near Seattle either. Actually, Alice was thinking more like Portland. Carlisle has us staying away from Seattle as well until things show signs of improving."

That seemed to put Charlie's mind at ease as he nodded his head and returned to the living room, slightly relieved.

I turned towards Edward, raising any eyebrow at him. The smooth way that he talked to my father was alarming, more so because there seemed to be actual fear in his voice. It was a fearful tone that I hadn't heard in his voice since we talked about Victoria chasing after me last year.

"Seattle, explain," I said, softly.

Edward nodded his head as he motioned for us to go outside. I followed him to my backyard and we walked away from the door to keep Charlie from hearing us. The cool breeze felt nice against the exposed bits of my skin as Edward leaned in closer towards me.

"Carlisle is worried about the situation in Seattle," Edward whispered. "Normally, we wouldn't care about homicide and missing person cases, but this one is different. This one is being caused by someone of our kind. Carlisle believes that it's a newborn vampire on the loose without his sire there to keep him in check."

"A newborn?" I asked. The whole vampire thing was still a little confusing to me. I knew how you changed into one and the whole blood lust deal mixed with the potential for extra abilities. I got that bit, but nobody ever really seemed to explain being a newborn to me. I figured that would be nice bit of information since I was considering becoming a vampire.

"Yes," Edward told me. "When we first change, our bloodlust is completely out of control. The thirst for blood is unquenchable and it leads us to attacking a lot of people in the process. If there really is a newborn in Seattle then its our job to take care of it before provoking attention from the Volturi."

Ah, there came in the big butt. Edward didn't have to breath another word of this. Just the mere mention of the Volturi was enough to have me worried about how bad this situation could become. The only rule in the vampire world was to never risk exposure. This newborn was risking being exposed, which would provoke the Volturi to intervene before it was too late. And that might provoke them to visit Forks to see us, the vampire who was in love with the enemy, a half-elf. And if that happened then no doubt that Jacob and the rest of the wolves would get involved.

It would be one great massacre…there would be no survivors on our side.

"How bad does it need to get before the Volturi show?" I asked him.

"We won't let it get that far," Edward promised. "Carlisle is already monitoring the situation. If it escalates any further then we'll step in before the Volturi even catches wind of it."

Okay, there was the good news. Yeah, Carlisle would know what to do since he's like a centuries year old vampire who spent a decade with the Volturi. He would know how they behaved well enough to know when to clear up this newborn mess before it was too late. That was good to hear. It built up my confidence with the situation.

I gave out a heavy sigh as I slowly began to walk back into the house. Edward followed me and squeezed my hand gently which did help to make me feel a little better. I gave him a soft smile before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. This time, I didn't hesitate to do so and I thought I was getting better, but I didn't feel the same dizzy spark I used to have. I didn't feel that burn of passion I used to have from just being around the dazzling Edward Cullen.

I just wanted that fire back.

* * *

**Evasion:**

There was a little more bounce in my step when I returned to school Thursday. With graduation looming over the horizon, the exhilarating feeling that it was all almost over left all the seniors buzzing with joy. Even I had to admit that I could not wait until the days of high school were done with and all my suffering was worth something. Even if I did become a vampire there was no way I was coming back to high school. I'd rather be an eternal college student, constantly seeking out knowledge and getting a PhD in every degree possible.

School had become relatively normal this past year, compared to sophomore and junior years. It was like freshmen year in the sense where nobody was chasing me and trying to kill me. The only difference was that my social circle had expanded yet again thanks to the departure of the evil bitch, Lauren. Without her around to spread her spite, it was safe enough for me to communicate with the other members of "our" group, even Jessica had returned to the light side of the Force.

The only difference was that I strayed more away from Edward. That didn't go unnoticed by anyone, they all knew something was terribly off with that one. Then Mike, of course, spilled the beans about me and Jacob so there was this whole mess of a love triangle going around. It was just very annoying and I never wanted to kill anyone so bad as that day where I nearly did stab Mike with a spoon.

But shrugging away from all my hostile thoughts, I returned to the shinny and new hallways of Forks High School. Ah yes, the graduation banners were up and the reminders to purchase the yearbooks were in full bloom. I already had mine stuffed into my backpack since Edward wanted me to have this token whether or not I chose to be part of his world. It was a kind gesture though, one that I understood that I may someday want to reflect upon and say "hey, I wasn't that big of a loser after all".

Angela and Alice were walking beside me as we ventured over to the cafeteria for lunch. The two of them were rambling on and on about graduation and the planning leading up to it. I didn't even want to think about the planning that Alice was going through, especially if it ever involved a party. I didn't want to relieve my seventeenth birthday party anytime soon. And I made that clear to her as I begged Edward to take me out to that nice dinner in Seattle for my eighteenth one. That took a lot of convincing on Charlie's part and swearing that I wasn't going to run away…again.

"My mother actually wants me to hand make the invitations!" Angela said with disgust. "She even wants me to invite everybody in the family, including the distant relatives. I am dreading next weekend with every fiber of my being. I thought it would be appropriate enough just to call the people who can come and buy cheap invitations for the ones who can't."

"But handmade ones are so much more personal!" Alice said, happily.

"That's a lot of saliva for her to use on her own," I reminded Alice. "If you need help then I can shop up next weekend. Charlie just let me off the hook last night so I'm a freeman again!"

Angela gave me a cheerful smile as she hugged me, thanking me for offering to help her with this ordeal. I only laughed as I reminded her that it was no big deal as we arrived to the cafeteria. We grabbed our trays, Alice barely took anything since she insisted that she was eating light for a diet, I knew better than that. After grabbing our food, we made our way to the massive table where half the student body probably sat at. I just loved making fun of the small population of Forks.

No sooner when we sat down, I was bombarded with everyone else's plans for graduation. I listened to all their woes and glees, amazed that I was the only one who didn't seem to have a stable plan. Well, I did have a plan. It involved me and Charlie going out to dinner then sneaking out to spend time with Edward…or Jacob. No! Scratch that thought, scratch it out of my mind! Jacob is a rude butthead, stop thinking about him.

I was lucky if I even got to see my mother for graduation, now there was the big iffy.

The happy buzz in the table seemed to crumble a bit as Jessica and Angela were starting to yell at Alice now. I was worried and picked my head away from my food to see the blank stare on her face. I knew that stare, it meant she was having a vision. I turned my head to the side, catching a brief glimpse of Edward's worried look since I knew he was seeing what she saw in her mind.

Alice gave out a heavy sigh, trying to pretend like nothing happened at all. She tried to play it cool like she was trapped in a daydream, which everyone who was paying attention seemed to accept. They resumed chanting about graduation, while I tried to force some answers out of Edward, but he wasn't budging. I wasn't surprised so that usually meant that her vision was exceptionally bad or worrisome.

And nine times out of ten, her visions usually involved me dying. Here I thought I was going to make it through the school year without a death threat. Oh well, at least I survived spring break without almost dying. I'll chalk that up as a victory.

Edward didn't budge no matter how much I tried to pry that day. He even talked to Mike about fixing up his car so I knew that something was fucking wrong here. This wasn't a pretty picture that was being painted in my head, but once again Edward was hiding everything from me. It was downright infuriating that I thought my head was going to burst once we finally left campus.

Still no words escaped those cold lips.

"You're being a jerk," I told Edward as I got out of his Volvo. I grabbed my bag and stormed towards the front door, swinging it open without any thought. Charlie wasn't hope so it's not like I'd get in trouble for banging up the place. I waited until he walked in before slamming the door to close. "All you do is hide everything from me. Is this what I have to look forward to when I become a vampire? Centuries and centuries of more you hiding everything from me? You know I already barely trust you now and you think the way to get my trust back is to feed me more lies?"

"It's not lying if I chose to say nothing," he said, grimly.

"Edward!" I shouted at him. "Tell me right now what Alice saw. If it involves me then I have a right to know what I should be protecting myself from. I'm not a weak human anymore. The elf in me is growing stronger every day and its stronger now that I finally know what I am. So please, tell me what the hell is going on."

Edward gave a heavy sigh as he walked over towards me. His cold hands touched my arms, holding me for a moment as he leaned over to kiss my forehead. "It's nothing serious," he told me. "It's just the newborn is creating more trouble in Seattle. Alice thinks she saw that there was more than one newborn on the loose."

Somehow, I didn't feel so reassured by what he told me. I still didn't think he was telling me the truth, but I guess we could say that it was a start. "You could've told me," I whispered back. His cool lips hovered above me before we slowly pulled apart. He followed me as I went up to my room, remembering that I had mail from my mother. He laid down on my bed while I fished out my laptop to check my inbox.

I took about ten minutes to give her a proper response. I told her about graduation and how excited I was before I noticed she asked me about Jacob. Keeping the monitor away from Edward's sight, I kept the mention of Jacob to a bare minimum. I kept it simple, I just said he wasn't talking to me now because Edward was back. I said goodbye to her then hit send, while I caught sight of Edward going through a box in my room.

It's when I remembered what I had stuffed in the box that I was going to be in trouble with that. Then it got worse when he pulled out the mangled machine that was stuffed into it. The wires were dangling out and the plates were broken into different pieces of the poor stereo.

"You destroyed it," Edward said, horrified. "How could you do something like that?"

"You should've seen the damage I did to Charlie's baseball bat," I mumbled, turning away. "Don't judge me. You're the one who hid most of the stuff to begin with. It wasn't fair that the stereo had to constantly stare at me and remind me that you were gone."

Edward bit down on his lip, obviously forgetting that part of the story. He seemed to calm down after that as he mumbled about need to replace it before Emmett and Jasper found out about it. He kept going on about it as he fished something else from the box, something that I forgot all about. And no, it wasn't the gorgeous leather jacket that Alice and Rosalie got for me. It was an envelope that carried a pair of plane tickets.

"You still haven't used the vouchers yet?" Edward said, shaking his head. "They expire in a week. You have to use them before Esme and Carlisle get offended."

"Well, I can't disagree with you on that." I took the box away from him as well as the plane tickets. "But I'll only go if you go with me. I want you to meet my mother. I need her approval before I even consider marrying you."

Edward started to grin as he leaned up and kissed me on the lips. I felt a small pop, but it still wasn't the warmth that I needed. Maybe I was getting there though, slowly. "There's nothing wrong with that. I approve of meeting my potential mother-in-law," he said. "I'll go with you, but you have to tell Charlie. Like now, he'll be here in five minutes."

"You need to go then," I said, pushing him off the bed. "Charlie won't take the news so well if you're here rubbing it in."

"Yes sir!" he saluted me before taking off.

I gave out a heavy sigh as I braced myself to talk with my father. Ugh, I really wasn't looking forward for that one. There was no way that Charlie was going to let me go across the country with Edward. It wouldn't be a problem if I was going by myself…or with Jacob. Hm, maybe I did find my loophole after all. I just needed to play the hypocrite card by going all drama queen on him then I should be good.

Now, it looked like I had a plan brewing.

The five minutes went by painfully slow and even then there as now way I could approach Charlie right away. I would need to wait for him to get comfortable and for him to drift off into his happy place before shoving this down his throat. I should be good after he changes, goes to the bathroom, and grabs something to munch on.

I peaked down the stairs, seeing that Charlie had now calmed down enough to be approached. I came down the steps with the vouchers in my hand, ready to present it to him. Hopefully, he would be willing to work with me a little bit.

"Hey dad," I said, sweetly.

"What do you want, Rio?" Charlie said, seeing through my fake sweetness.

I leaned over the couch and held up the vouchers for him to see. "Well, Dr. Cullen and his wife got me a voucher last year to see mom in Florida," I said, calmly. "The tickets expire next week and I thought about going this weekend since there isn't any class Monday."

"How generous of them," Charlie said, heavily. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea though. You should go see you mom. She'd like that a lot. Wait, did you say tickets?"

"They got me two," I said, shrugging away. "I was going to give the other one to Edward so that he could meet mom…properly."

"Rio," Charlie said, growling between his teeth.

"Dad," I said, ready to guilt him. "If this was Jacob, you would say yes in a heartbeat. Please, can I go with Edward? Mom and Phil will be supervising us both. You don't have to worry about us running off to Europe or something."

Charlie gave off a heavy sigh, his dark brown eyes glued to mine. I tried to read his expression, but it was a little trickier than that. Yes, he didn't seem excited about it, but I couldn't tell if that meant yes or no. "Fine," he said, sounding slightly bitter. "You can go with Edward, but you and I need to have a very important talk."

And here I thought I was going to win. Now, I was beginning to fear this catch that might be brewing in Charlie's throat. "Talk about what?" I asked him. "Is this about me alienating everybody again? I already made plans with Angela to help her next weekend make her graduation invitations."

"No," he told me. "You and I need to have the sex talk."

Oh, hell to the no! I jumped away from the couch and plugged my fingers into my ears. "I'm not listening!" I said, singing as I walked away. "We talked about this when puberty started, plus mom gave me the talk three years ago." I tried to get away from Charlie, but he grabbed me and dragged me back to the couch. He forced me to sit down back down, refusing to let me go anywhere.

I was twitching as I braced myself for the worst. We already had this talk a long time ago. I didn't need to go through this awkward conversation again.

"That was before you started dating," said Charlie. "Plus, you have two, attractive boys going after you, we need to have this talk. I know that it's going to happen sooner or later, if you haven't already done so, but I need to make this very clear. Sex between two guys is far different from what it would be like between a man and a woman. There is less boundaries, but there is a bigger chance that you'll get hurt."

"Dad!"

"Not in that way, I meant emotionally," Charlie said, quickly. "Just, be on your guard. Don't just throw yourself at any guy that you think you like. Make sure that you're in love with that guy before you do anything. I guess what I'm saying is…just make sure you're in love with Edward before you taking things any further then they already are. I don't want you to see you hurt Jacob then decide he's the one you love in the end."

And with that said, Charlie left me with a guilty conscious. I bit down on my lip as I looked out to the window, feeling really guilty about him being so understating yet there was a punch in my gut with his words. He knew that I was seriously confused about what I was doing and who I loved. He was right though, I needed to make a serious decision about who I wanted to be with. I couldn't just keep stringing them along.

It was then that I decided that I really needed to talk to Jacob. I needed to see him before I went to Florida with Edward. If I could just have that one bit of clarity then maybe I would feel better about all of this or at least know who I should be with.

Yeah, it really was time for us to talk. I ran upstairs to grab my keys while Charlie was busy rummaging for something to eat in the kitchen. I grabbed a sweater and my phone just in case it was needed. The weather liked to get all rainy on me whenever I tried to wear short sleeves. When I came back downstairs, Charlie was holding a sandwich and giving me a suspicious look.

"I really should try and see Jacob," I told him.

Charlie began to smile at me as he practically pushed me out of the door. He, dare I say, was almost jumping for joy at the prospect of me going to see Jacob. "Yeah that does sound like a really good idea," said Charlie. "Go have fun. Try not to stay out too late though."

"I'll try and be home at a decent time," I said, softly. "Bye dad."

"Bye Rio."

I walked out of the door and made my way over to the Beast. I knew that this was the right thing to do, I really did need to see Jacob. Everything didn't feel right without him round, I needed to at least try and speak to him to try and clear things up. I was feeling so lost right now that I knew that only talking to Jacob would make things right.

But when I put the keys into the ignition, the truck turned against me. There was this nasty sound going off that made me think that I broke the poor thing. I started to freak out, fearing that I was going to have to take it to the mechanics when I felt a sudden increase of weight in the trunk.

Edward was kneeling in the trunk with his eyes glued on me. There was a slightly, dark scowl on his face and I knew that he knew just where I was running off to. "Alice suddenly lost track of your future," he told me. "She saw you leaving for La Push then it all went blank. I had to stop you before you went running off to your death."

"I'm sure he says the same thing about you every day," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "Fix my truck, Edward."

"I will in the morning," he told me. "I don't want you running off to Jacob."

"What about what I want?" I asked him. "I need to talk to him. He's really hurting. I have to at least try and make amends."

"He's too dangerous to be around."

"Only when you're present."

We were left staring at each other for a long time. I was mad at him for fucking up my truck on purpose, but there was no budging with this vampire in my trunk. He knew that all he was doing was pissing me off yet he didn't care about that.

Now I remember why I cut him and Jacob out of my life in the first place.

"You're not going to La Push," he said, firmly. "Not with that hormonal wolf running around."

"Then don't bother coming to Florida with me," I snapped, getting out of the truck.

I slammed my door on him, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing just how pissed I was at him.

* * *

**Motives:**

So my brief trip to Florida was a lonely one at least in the sense that Edward wasn't around. At least that gave me a little more time to think with a clearer head. I spent a lot of time with my mother at her beautiful, beachside home. She was tempting me horribly to move back down there and go to the university there. I appreciated the attempt and remembered just why I loved my mother so much in the first place.

It was also the first time I noticed just how vastly different we were. My mom and I were really like night and day, yet we got along so well. I guess that's also how she was able to get along with Phil and what made her fall in love with Charlie in the first place. The only reason I could see why that my parents' marriage worked out was because my mom couldn't be happy in Forks and dad didn't want to leave. Had Charlie been willing to move anywhere else then maybe I wouldn't be in a broken home right now.

Wow, depressing and profound thoughts galore.

But the weekend I spent with my mother and Phil was an entertaining one at that. Phil did a lot of coaching for this little league team and his own career so I didn't spend as much time around him. He was a hoot and a half though, I'll give him that. I made the mistake of going to a club with them both, granted it was a gay club too, but the two of them looked like they were having the time of their lives. Phil wasn't bothered at all by the whole gay thing and Renée would be a beard if she could. I could only laugh as I saw them shaking it with a drag queen, while trying not to turn bright red in the process.

Yeah, everything just felt better now that I was away from Forks. Maybe that's all I really did need. I just had to get away from all that gloominess and embrace the warm sun and fresh, salty air. I could live without the humidity though, but that was a different story.

Renée made me dish all the dirty details about my boy troubles. It didn't hurt that Charlie actually talked to her before I landed in Jacksonville. She was aware, in a sense, of the awkward mess that was brewing with Edward and Jacob. I had to spill the beans with her and tell her everything, minus the supernatural bits. She wasn't surprised at all when I mentioned that I had been sexually involved with them both too. In fact, she applauded me for snagging such attractive young men.

We sat on the deck with the bright sun beating down on us.

"It sounds like you're stuck in a pickle, kiddo," my mother told me. "You need to really think about this one, yet don't dread so much on it. In all honesty, do you really think either one of these boys is the one you're going to spend the rest of your life with? You're going off to college next year, there will be a lot more guys you'll interact with. It wouldn't hurt if you just rejected them both. Well, it wouldn't hurt you, but it would hurt them a lot because they would miss their chance to spend the rest of their lives with the most fantastic young man in the world!"

"You're my mother, you're supposed to think I'm better than anyone else," I said, laughing at her. "I'm pretty sure your opinion is a little biased there."

"So what, if I am!" Renée told me. "I love you, Rio, and I will even after the day I die. I'll never think there's a boy out there good enough for my baby boy. I'm sure that Charlie feels the same way as I do."

"He does," I told her, "but he wants me to choose Jacob. He's certain that Edward is just bad news and will leave again."

"Don't believe in everything your father tells you," she said, "but do listen to him. It's foolish to ignore a warning and not think of the consequences." She gave a heavy sigh before brushing her hand through her dark-brown locks. My mother smiled at me as she slowly got up from her chair. "Enough of this depressing boy talk though. I have a present for you! An early graduation present, if you will."

I started to laugh at Renée as she ran into the house. I told her that it wasn't necessary at all, but she insisted that it was worth it. When I made it to her bedroom, she was pulling out a wrapped box from her closet that she handed over to me. We flopped down on the queen-sized mattress and I quickly took off the wrapping before pulling the lid open.

As I looked inside, my heart stopped beating for a moment. I gently lifted the gift up and saw that it was a very special quilt. The patches were all of the t-shirts we got from our many road trips that took place throughout my childhood. There were plenty of blank spaces that I thought she made just for the design, but they led downward so it made me wonder. Was she really planning on dragging me off to a million more road trips?

Renée hugged me from behind, squeezing me tight against her motherly hold. I missed moments like this, getting hugs from my own mother. "This should keep you warm since I bet dorm rooms can get chilly, especially in Alaska. Please don't go to Alaska, Rio. It's too far and you wouldn't survive the cold." She started to laugh at me, whom I couldn't help but to join her. Alaska was beginning to seem less and less of an option by the day. "Anyways, I was also think that you could add onto it, someday. I'm sure you'll adopt plenty of babies and you have to take them on vacation at some point in their lives. This way we can have our own little tradition going on from parent to child."

My heart wanted to burst at the thought as I swung myself around and held onto my mother. For the first time in years, I cried in front of my mother. I couldn't stop crying either as I felt so overwhelmed by the gift's meaning. This was far more then I deserved and I couldn't believe that she did all of this for me.

And that made saying goodbye to her all the more difficult.

With the quilt packed in my bag, I left my mother the next morning to return to Forks. I kissed her goodbye and hugged Phil farewell before walking over to security. As I watched the two of them, I knew my mother was in capable hands as I saw Phil hold her tight as she cried. She would have someone to look after her if something were to ever happen where I couldn't be there any longer. I didn't need to take care of my mother anymore and that made me feel a lot better about all the paths that were standing before me.

That was the second longest flight of my life, the first going to the international one from Rome to Atlanta. You want to talk about a nightmare. God, with all that caffeine in my system, I thought I was going to die! Lucky for me though, I was too much in shock and exhausted to really pay attention to the pain coursing throughout my body. That and I experienced worse when James bit me and nearly killed me two years ago.

Once I landed in the Port Angeles Airport, Charlie was there to greet me like when I first came to Forks. It was a little poetic in a sense. Not sure what it all meant though, but I didn't really care as I hugged my father like my life depended on it. Charlie didn't seem to get it, but he wasn't about to fight the hug as he held me close.

We walked off to the cruiser after that, I showed off the quilt that Renée made for me, which he thought was amazing.

I returned to Forks that afternoon and felt exhausted from the long plane ride. I dumped my suitcase on the floor and flopped down on the bed with a tired sigh ripping through my lungs. I already ate so I wasn't going to worry about eating the rest of the day. I just felt really tired and needed a good, long rest before going back to school tomorrow.

At least that's what I had planned before I heard a light knock on the window. I picked my head up to catch a glimpse of Edward and felt a soft grin form on my face. I pushed the window open to let him in as stood still as he gracefully entered my bedroom. He looked as heartbroken as the day he came crawling back to me after I issued my major breakup with him and Jacob.

"Don't try and control me. Don't try and alienate me from the ones I love," I whispered to him. "I don't need to be overprotected. I just need protecting, okay?"

"Okay," he whispered, taking hold of my hands. "Did you enjoy Florida? Is your mom doing good?"

"It was fantastic. I needed to go, tell Esme and Carlisle thank you," I said, softly. I leaned up just a bit to kiss him on the lips. For a moment, his cold skin seemed to warm up against me. There were just a little bit of butterflies fluttering around so I took that as a sign that leaving was what was best. I did feel better about everything, even about my two-sided heart and the Jacob situation.

I dragged Edward to my bed, slowly removing my clothes. He stood still as he just watched me strip down to nothing. Once I was fully nude, he wrapped his arms around me, bringing me closer towards his body. His cold, marble flesh contrasted against my body nicely that it sent tingles down my spine.

We gently fell to my mattress and Edward held onto my naked body as I began to fall asleep in his arms.

When morning finally came, I felt miserable as I dragged myself out of bed so I could get to school. It wasn't like jetlag or anything like that, I just really didn't want to go to school at all today. I think my senioritis was finally starting to kick in. A little late though, but it was the perfect timing since the GPAs were locked, but I still had a few tests left until graduation. Ugh, I might as well try to at least pay attention to my boring, old classes today.

I did my usual morning routine and found something decent to eat before running out the door. The Volvo was already parked in the driveway with Edward leaning against it like a cool guy. I had to remind him how much of a douche he looked like when he did that, which he continued to do because he knew how much it annoyed me. I just shot him a dirty look though so he eventually got in the car and drove us to school.

My mind was already telling me it was going to be a bad day before we reached the parking lot. I gave Edward a brief summary of my trip to Florida since I passed out before I could tell him anything yesterday. Just when I was getting to the gay club, Edward's entire being started to tense up for a moment. I've never seen that happen before and was extremely glad he was already parked when that happened.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

He ignored me for a second though as he pushed the car door open. He was already halfway out when he finally turned around to look at me. "If I ask you to stay in the car, would you listen?" he said, whole-heartedly. I shook my head and him so he sighed with regret. He barely whispered his next words to me, but I was able to hear them nonetheless. "Jacob's here."

I flew out of the car without any hesitation at the prospect of seeing Jacob. Edward tried to stop me, pledging with me once more to stay in the car. I shoved myself out of his way. I needed to talk to Jacob and since he was on my turf now, we were finally going to have the talk we so desperately needed. Edward had no choice but to either follow me as I stormed to the front of the school where people drew away from an outrageously, large boy.

Why wasn't I surprised that Jacob changed so much in a year? He was way over six-feet now from what I could tell. I was afraid to think if he was pushing seven, at least he was halfway there that much I was certain. His muscles were larger than they were the last time I saw him. He easily passed the football player physique he once had into that over a bodybuilder, but not those outrageous steroid muscles. No, his looked so natural and suited his boy well. His face was as smooth as ever, but it did appear that a lot shadow was growing on that chiseled chin of his. All and all, Jacob had changed way more than I thought he could, it was almost like he was a completely different person.

If it wasn't for those warm, puppy dog eyes of his then I'd never be able to recognize him.

The dark scowl on his face though reminded me of what made him so different.

Edward was already in front of me, blocking the view that Jacob had of me. Even though there wasn't that much of a difference between us in our body shapes, Edward could still block me out from his sight. The tense feeling in the air was enough to make me worry for both of their safety. If a fought broke out between them then it would be one between two Titans that would no doubt destroy the entire school, if not the town.

And it was obvious that a fight may happen by the way that everyone was beginning to circle around us.

"I already know, Jacob," Edward told him. "You don't need to go redefining the lines for us, again."

"You just can't seem to take the hint, leech," Jacob hissed back. "Your brother invaded our land yesterday, we only did what was necessary."

"What!" I said, finally getting out of Edward's shadow. "Wait, what happened yesterday?"

Jacob turned his dirty scowl away from Edward, his features began to soften as he looked at me. A small smile even grew, which reminded me so much of the old Jacob that wasn't all crazy because of his wolfy genes. "You're still human," his voice sounded relived. "I was worried that something happened when Charlie said you were away."

"He thought we were changing you," Edward said, softly.

"What have I told you about staying out of my head, Cullen!" growled Jacob.

Once more, I got between the two. I just noticed that Jacob was leaning against his black bike, the same one I "helped" him to rebuild. Just like the red one I made him sell since he busted me out to Charlie. "How many times do I have to tell you two to play nice," I growled at them both. "Don't think I won't zap the both of you again because I will. Now, tell me what happened while I was seeing my mother! Clearly, the two of you are hiding a big story."

"You haven't told him?" Jacob said, raising an eyebrow at Edward. A sly grin spread across his tanned face, which Edward had to growl at as he begged me to leave. Jacob wasn't about to have that though as he gently took hold of my hand, instantly I was overwhelmed by his warmth. The simple touch brought a race of sensation throughout my body that I had no clue what it was supposed to mean. It felt like magic though. "Victoria is back." There went the magic buzz. "All of us were chasing after her when she crossed into our land, his brother tried to get her when he crashed into Paul's way."

"A fight broke between us," Edward finished. "Carlisle and Jasper were able to calm things down quickly enough before it turned into a bloodbath. Victoria got away though…"

I stopped breathing for a moment, ignoring the fact that everyone almost killed each other while I was away. No, I was more concerned by the red-headed vampire that wanted my life and was willing to do whatever it took to get it. My hand slid out of Jacob's hold as I started to walk away from the both of them.

I looked at them both with the look of disbelief on my face. I couldn't believe it, Victoria was here and I ran away without even knowing it. "Did she get anywhere near Charlie?" I asked Edward.

"No," he whispered. "We stopped her at the border."

"Damn leeches," Jacob hissed.

"Don't start with me, mutt," Edward growled.

"Enough," I said to them both. I avoided Edward's gaze, I decided that Jacob was a little more important right now. I had a much bigger bone to pick with him. "You, I'm going to kick your ass. You've been quilting Charlie into thinking that I'm the bad guy when you're the one who made it clear that you want nothing to do with me so long as I associate with the Cullens."

"I'm not quilting anyone, Charlie is coming up with his own conclusions," Jacob said, defiantly.

"Then why has Billy been telling Charlie that you're depressed?" I asked him. "You're the one who wants nothing to do with me. You can't even talk to me without wanting to throw a punch at Edward."

Jacob flinched for a moment, but only shook his head at me. He got on the bike and started the engine so that I heard the familiar roar. For a minute, I thought back to the day where we first started working on the bikes. "It is what it is, Rio," he whispered. "I can't change the rules. We can't talk so long as you're around him."

"You don't have to break the rules, Jake," I told him, "just bend them."

"If only it were that easy," he smirked before taking off.

There was only a brief cloud of smoke that kicked up, hitting mostly Edward. He didn't seem to care though, he was happy that Jacob was gone now. I swore I could hear a chuckle coming from Jacob though as the cloud hit Edward. I shook my head as Jacob's large figure disappeared from sight along with the roaring of his engine.

I turned over to Edward, shaking my head at him too. "That's what Alice really saw," I told him. "She saw Victoria, not the newborns." He gave me that guilty look which told me I was right. The only reason he quilted me into seeing my mom was so he could run me out of town. He couldn't just tell me the truth for once. Was it that hard to tell Rio that a bloodthirsty vampire was after you again, we need you to hide for a few days? Really, couldn't he just say that.

"I was trying to protect you," Edward said.

"Lying isn't the same things as protecting," I said before turning away.

School didn't seem to matter to me at all for the rest of the day. I was too busy fuming about what happened with Edward and worrying about Jacob. My Wolf-boy was harboring way more scars then he was willing to share with me. I still felt guilty about it and wished that was more that I could do to help.

What could I do though? Alice would rat me out as soon as I even thought about going to La Push. Edward would sabotage my truck again and no doubt he'd go after Charlie's too if I tried to escape in the cruiser. The only thing that might work is if I learned how to control my powers well enough to either hide my future, teleport, or run faster than a vampire. Until then, I was grounded from going anywhere near La Push and Jacob.

It was downright infuriating and it didn't help that the guys in class were talking about it.

"Dude, I seriously think that Jacob would've kicked Edward's ass," I heard Mike whispered with glee.

"Nah, I think Edward might win," Ben told Mike. "Jacob's got a lot of muscle, which means he'd be slower in a fight. Edward could wiggle his way around and knock him down."

"Whatever, bitch," laughed Austin. "I'm siding with Mike on this one. Jacob would win."

"I vote Edward," said their friend, Jim.

While the guys in class, "silently" made their bets in who would win in a fight, it brought up a very good point. Who's side was I on? Do I side with Team Edward or was I on Team Jacob? Either way, I knew I was going to have to pick a side soon enough. There was no way that either one of them would let me continue just staying on the fence about everything.

But…I still have no idea who I should be with…who I really love.

* * *

**Nature:**

When school let out for the day, I made Edward take me over to his place. I still wasn't in a very nice mood with him so the car ride to the Cullen house was a silent one. He didn't bother to try and start a conversation; he knew that he was in big trouble. I had my arms crossed over my chest as I stared out the window until his home came into view. And I was out the door as soon as he parked the door, but he beat me to the front door.

He barely opened the door when I shoved passed him and called for Carlisle. I wasn't surprised to see him already coming down the stairs as Edward followed behind me. The other members of the family came out from their hiding places as I faced them all down, demanding to know what happened while I was gone. Clearly, they thought they were going to keep this as a big, dark secret, but it looked like their bubble had burst.

Emmett filled me in how he accidently crashed into Paul while trying to catch Victoria. Paul got really mad and took a bite out of him, Emmett reacted with equal hostility, and it nearly turned into a full-blown rumble. They lost Victoria after that, she was easily able to escape during all the commotion, which meant she was hunting me from wherever she was hiding.

I was grateful for the honesty his family gave me since Edward couldn't keep up. I turned back around and told Edward to take me home, after I said my goodbyes to the family. Edward remained perfectly silent as he escorted me to his car so that he could drop me off. Once we were back on the road, I let him have it.

"You're doing all of this on purpose," I said, loudly. "You're keeping all of these secrets because you want me to run off to Jacob. You figure that I'll get fed up with all this bullshit and run off to him."

"Of course not!" he sounded offended. "Why would you think something like that?" I couldn't tell if he was being honest or not. I was still suspicious of him because it truly did seem like he was trying to push me away.

A heavy sigh escaped me as I turned away from him. "How can I not?" I told him. "I want to spend forever with you, yet you want me to stay human. You want me to grow old. You want me to eventually die. You already know that I'm conflicted enough trying to juggle with what I feel for you and Jacob, your easy way out is just to push me to the arms of another man. I've seen it plenty of times on TV."

"Television will only rot your brain," he told me. "You really need to stop watching 90210."

"Don't push my buttons," I warned him. "Plus, I was thinking more along the lines of soap operas."

He smirked, softly, as he pulled into the driveway of my house. He let me out of the car with a goodbye escaping his lips. I waved back at him; I would feel a little bad if I just blew him off completely. This was the last time I was going to see him for a bit since he was going out hunting with Emmett and Rosalie tomorrow.

I went upstairs to get some homework on some homework, but I felt myself plagued with more thoughts that I didn't need to deal with. Instead of worrying about Jacob and Edward though, it was Victoria that was on my mine. That was a nice distraction though since I didn't have to worry about my boy troubles. Now I got to worry about the psycho vampire chick who wanted to rip me to shreds because Edward destroyed her mate when said mate tried to kill me because I was a challenge! Yay me!

Ugh, couldn't just one year go by where a vampire wasn't trying to kill me? I was beginning to think that Jacob might be a little right about the crowd I was hanging out with. These bloodthirsty vampires were starting to come after me like there was no tomorrow. There weren't enough vegetarian vampires out there to balance this out. Plus, now the Volturi was probably interested in me now that they knew I was a half-elf.

Yup, I don't see how things could get any worse, at least with my vampire situation.

Well, at least tomorrow I didn't have to worry about my boy troubles. Edward was already gone when I left to get to school that morning. I slipped into the Beast and took off, meeting up with Alice as soon as I stepped out of the truck. She would be my guardian for the day since Edward wasn't around to keep an eye on me. And it was a very special eye that would know if I was planning on running away to La Push or not.

So I just went through the motions and kept myself distracted as the day progressed. I managed to keep all thoughts of Edward, Jacob, and Victoria to a bare minimum. I actually did a good job at keeping myself together and lived a relatively, human day. I had to admit, I was going to miss these days if I became a vampire. The simple days where nothing seemed to matter and the day was full of laughter.

But that seemed to deflate when I made my way over to work that day. I had changed in the boys' restroom and was about to be late if I didn't hop to. Good thing that traffic was pretty much nonexistent as I finally reached the parking lot of the sporting goods store.

I almost ran inside the store when I saw Mike and his mother cleaning up a broken mess. It looked like somebody broke something while I was getting here. Mike's mother wasn't exactly dressed up appropriately to be working in a sporting goods store. The high heels and glamorous makeup she was wearing was proof enough if her hairdo didn't help. She looked more like she was prepared to work at Sephora.

"Hi, Mrs. Newtown, hey Mike," I said, greeting them both.

Mrs. Newton picked her head up, while Mike continued to sweep up the mess. She looked startled to see me, which made me freeze in place. Was there something on my face? "Oh, Rio. Didn't you get my message?" she asked, sweetly. "I called and told you that today was a slow day so you didn't need to come in."

"You did?" I asked, fishing for my cell phone. There was a voicemail from a Mrs. Newtown, yup she did call. Huh, I really needed to get a new phone. "I guess my phone started to act up again now. Sorry about that, Mrs. Newton."

"It's no big deal, sweetie," she laughed. "Just go on home and work on studying for your finals. I'm going to send Mike home in an hour too so he could study. Tell your father I said hi."

"Alright, will do, Mrs. Newton," I said to one of my bosses. "Later Mike."

"Bye Rio," Mike said, finally getting back on his feet.

I walked back out the door and went to the truck. I had just started the engine when I realized that I was exempt from taking all of my finals. I literally had nothing to do. Charlie was going out with some buddies from work and Alice was busy doing something with Jasper. Granted, she was still keeping an eye on me but she could see the future so she would know if the shit hit the fan.

There was nothing for me to do. That thought replayed in my head as I started to get on the road, heading in the general direction of the house. I had nothing at all to do though since the house was clean and nothing good was on TV. It wasn't like there was anything fun to do in Forks and everybody I knew was busy with something else.

I barely registered seeing a sign for the reservation as I passed a stoplight.

That's right, there was nothing to do in Forks, but there was something I could do in La Push. Jacob would be there, no doubt sitting on the couch or working on something in his garage. Alice wouldn't know about it because I didn't make the decision until just now. If I hurried then I would already cross the boundary line and that meant Alice and Jasper couldn't come after me. It was perfect, but I needed to do so right now.

And that's when I switched lanes, jumping onto the exit. I went as fast as I could with the Beast, praying that Alice wouldn't catch up to me before it was too late. I was biting down on my bottom lip as I saw the boundary line coming up and my skin wasn't tingling at all from an approaching figure. I exhaled as I crossed the imaginary line and made it into the wolf territory.

Now I could see Jacob without anyone trying to stop me.

From then on it was just me following the familiar road until I reached La Push. As I crossed into town, I swore I saw Sue Clearwater walking out of a store with Seth and Leah following behind her. I didn't want to put that theory to the test as I tried to get out of the immediate area, focusing on getting to Jacob's house. The guilt of potentially being responsible for Harry's death was too much for me to think about. They learned that his death was trigged by a panic attack, I didn't want to think that he got sight of Victoria, recognizing her for what she was before dying. I was barely getting over it and didn't want to risk bringing up any old scars.

I crept close as I pulled into the driveway with a loud roar alerting the inhabitant of the house. It was just like before, Jacob's big head shot up like a dog and soon enough the front door was flying open as he raced out of there. I barely closed the door to the truck when I felt his warm arms wrap around me, lifting me up into the air. His woodsy, musky scent hit me like a ton of bricks, but the natural scent was so familiar to me that I couldn't help but to melt.

"I've missed you, Rio," he said, holding me close.

"Missed you too," I responded as he finally put me down.

Jacob released me from his deadly hold and I felt the butterflies swarming around in my stomach. I suddenly felt so right, but it did feel a little wrong to be here in the first place. This is what I had to do though, I needed to see Jacob. I had to make things right. It was only the pious thing to do after all.

Jacob's smile was locked onto my face and I suddenly saw him before the chance for a moment. His youthful innocence that I felt weak for began to surge through the strong masculine features that he now possessed. "Now why did you come all the way out here on a schoolday?" he asked, leaning towards me. "I figured that Edward wouldn't let you out of his sight now that the she-leech is back on the prowl."

"I snuck away," I said, simply.

"Badass," he said, laughing. "Want to go to the garage?"

"Sure," I said, nodding my head too.

Jacob just continued to smile as he turned and led me to the garage. As our shoes crunched against the gravel road, Jacob snaked his hand around mine and took hold of it without my permission. I didn't fight it this time, I couldn't really fight the natural feeling that I had. My body was telling me one thing, but my mind was telling me to keep my distance.

I desperately needed to pick a side and fast, this constant turmoil was getting on my nerves.

We went into the garage and I soon saw Jacob's bike parked against a familiar red one. I recognized it as my bike, the bike I told him to sell since Charlie threatened to have it impounded after learning of my activities. Jacob just said that it wasn't his to sell, it belonged to me and that Charlie was just going to have to suck it up. I chuckled a little as I followed him to the Rabbit, remembering that the last time I was in that car…we made love.

"How are things in your end of the woods?" I asked, trying to erase the thought.

"Good," Jacob said, sitting down on a chair. He pulled out a stool from behind him and placed it in front of me so I could sit. "Everything has been good, mostly. A little drama here and there, but what do you expect when the pack gets bigger. More thoughts and a lot more secrets get forced into the open."

"You guys need to learn to hide your thoughts better," I told him. "If I ever learn the secret as to why I can repeal people reading my thoughts then maybe I'll share it with you."

"That would be nice," he laughed. "It might help me from having to deal with Quil and Embry's constant nagging."

"Quil?" I said, curiously. "He phased?"

Jacob nodded his head, his smile growing as he began to give the riveting tale. "Last May, Quil finally phased on us. Well, he literally did so in front of Embry and me," he said, calmly. "We tried to shake him loose, he got really pissed, and he phased. We phased to before it go nasty so that we could calm him down. Quil's adjusted nicely though, you have no idea how excited he is to be part of the group again."

I could tell from the peaceful look on Jacob's face that he was glad too. I remembered just how sad that Quil looked after Jacob and Embry phased. He was pushed away from his friends and he was beginning to change too, he didn't understand how any of it was working. It hurt Embry and Jacob too, they didn't want to keep the secret, but Sam made them. It was good that Jacob had all of his friends back, he wouldn't be so alone now.

"That's good news then," I said, softly.

Jacob started to tell me about his boring days on La Push. Even though being a wolf was exciting, it was a very lonely one despite the fact that he wasn't alone. He felt alone in other ways and I knew that meant me. He didn't try to guilt me though like he said yesterday, but I still felt the guilt. So he tried to change the subject by talking about all the trouble that Embry, Quil, and him would get into just to annoy the hell out of Sam.

We did share a nice laugh though and I began to see the happy Jacob again. But as quickly as he came, he faded away as well. He took one good look at me then began to slump down in his chair, keeping his eyes away from mine. I felt a slight pain in my chest and I was about to reach out to his massive shoulder when he finally picked his head back up.

"Rio," he said, his voice growing serious, "can you. Last spring, can you tell me what happened when you left?"

That wasn't what I was expecting to here. I was assuming that he'd never want to hear about that, but I suppose that Jacob should know about it. So I thought about what parts I needed to omit before I told him my exciting story of the Volturi. I carefully explained how they were the leaders in the vampire world whose sole role was to make sure that the secret of their existence was never exposed and if it was risked then they'd punish the criminals with death.

And that's how I explained Edward's suicide attempt. I told Jacob how Edward was going to expose himself to a crowd of people in the Volturi's city. I managed to stop Edward before he exposed himself, but the Volturi's guards were already on us. Jacob tensed up when I explained how three of them showed up, ready to dispose of us if they didn't have orders to bring us to their leaders. Alice was dragged along of course and we met another one of the guards, making it a total of four.

Then I told him about Aro, Caius, and Marcus. They were oldest, known vampires on the planet and possibly the most terrifying beings to exist. I mentioned how Aro wanted to test me to see if I was immune to their mental abilities like I was to Edward. Jacob didn't like that bit as I got to how Jane tried to torture me, but I managed to keep him calm when I told him that her attempts failed. Edward later got into a fight with the guard when he was trying to protect me when Caius wanted to put me to death then I exposed my abilities to them.

"I'm a half-elf," I said to Jacob. "The Volturi said that they drove all the elves from this world and killed the rest because we were the biggest threat to them. Elves have the power to hurt vampires so they struck first before they could be killed. They let us go though because they were afraid that they would invoke the wrath of a god since I'm the last elf on Earth."

"A god?" Jacob said. "Is the higher power that speaks to you, is he a god?"

"Freyr," I said, softly. "He is the god I speak to, he is the father of the elves. He's been teaching me about my powers while I sleep. You'd be amazed by some of the things I can do, Jake. I never knew it was this cool to be an elf."

"An elf," he said, laughing. "I guess that explains why you're so short."

Oh, he really didn't need to go there about my height. I bit down on my bottom lip then smacked the palm of my hand onto his knee. Jacob squinted his eyes at me for a moment before I sent a sharp spike of electricity into his system, forcing him to fall off his chair. He rolled onto the ground for a moment, screaming out in brief pain before crawling back onto his feet.

"What the hell!" Jacob shouted.

"That was at low-voltage," I told him. "You should see what I can do when I turn up the watts."

Jacob gulped before taking a step back. I knew that was testing his patience and had I been anyone else he might have wolfed out on me. Jacob didn't react that way though. Instead, he just began to laugh as he got closer to me. "Sorry," he whispered.

I nodded my head as I turned and walked out of the garage. He followed behind me with his hand touching the lower part of my back. A shiver escaped me and this time I did respond by pulling myself away from his touch.

"What?" Jacob said, offense present in his voice. "You can let a leech touch you, but you freak out when I do?"

"I let you hug me and hold my hand, didn't I?" I said. "Where does this sudden hostility come from, Jacob? Can't you just respect some personal space?"

"It would be easier if you didn't let that dead freak touch you," he said, bitterly. "You shouldn't be with someone who wants to drink your blood. You should be with someone natural, a human."

I rolled my eyes at him as I took a turn from his house to my truck. Things were going so nice too then Jacob had to go and pop that balloon. "Well, I guess I'd better start going out with Mike Newton then," I told him. "In case you forgot, Jacob, you're not exactly human."

Jacob ran to block me from reaching the door handle. He took hold of my hand and raised it up to his chest until I could feel his heartbeat. "Being with Mike is better than being with Edward at least," he said, softly. "But I'm far more human then Cullen is, you can feel my heartbeat. You can feel warmth, you don't have to worry about me ever wanting to kill you for your blood or lying to you."

There was some truth to that.

My hands slowly began to slip away from him as I retracted it back. I held onto it with my other hand, turning my head away from him. "But I'm barely human, Jacob," I said, softly. "I'm only half. I don't belong to either world, not with elves or humans. I'm already a freak of nature. My existence defies the natural order. What difference does it make if I want to be with Edward?"

"It makes a difference to me," Jacob said, leaning in close to me. "I can't lose you, Rio. I just can't."

There was just too much honesty in his words. Honestly, didn't know what to say as found him wrapping his arms around me again. They locked around me tightly, refusing to let me go from their safe grip. I leaned in against his chest and closed my eyes as I thought about just how big I was digging my ditch.

* * *

**Imprint:**

The rest of my day was spent sitting on Jacob's lap in the living room of his house. My head rested against his shoulder, while I had my arms locked around the upper part of his chest and his held onto my waist. We stayed like this for a long while until he brought up that Sam was disappointed in me. Jacob said that Sam thought I would totally be anti-Cullens, especially the way he found me in the woods.

I had to remind him that they did nothing wrong. I told him how Edward only left because he thought he was protecting me from his world. He didn't know I'd shatter apart and that Victoria would want to have her revenge on me instead of going straight to him. It wasn't his fault, if it was anyone it was mine. I'm just an insignificant human with magical, elf blood in his system.

"You're special, Rio," Jacob said, softly. "But you do know that if he stayed away just a month longer that…that things would be different. It would just be you and me."

"There would still be a lot of hostile tension," I said to him. "Besides, Edward was coming back sooner or later. The whole avoiding me deal wasn't working for him. He was hurting way more then I was. He didn't even at least try to move on. He was stuck in a rut."

"Serves him right," he said, bitterly.

"Don't, Jacob, not now," I whispered.

He held me tighter and I got the reassurance that I needed to be certain of this. I felt his breathing which was different compare to Edward since he had no need to breathe. It was nice not to be the only one who had the need to take in oxygen.

When my thoughts began to wander though, Jacob snapped me back into reality. He started talking about Sam, which I didn't really care about. I listened though since Jacob shared just how hard it was for Sam to be on his own. I told Edward before that the only reason they phase was because vampires were around, Jacob only affirmed this even more. The gene was dormant for generations, skipping two whole generations before it finally activated with Sam.

For years, Sam was on his own and thought he was going completely insane with dreams of being a wolf. It wasn't until he ran into Quil Senior, our Quil's dad, was the puzzle finally unsolved. Quil Senior saw his grandfather transforming into a wolf before and so did Billy with his grandfather. With other members of the council, they were able to explain to Sam what was happening to him and guided him into controlling his abilities.

He was still on his own though for years before finally Jared changed with Paul following not long after that.

But Sam's issues didn't end there.

"Sam used to date Leah before meeting Emily," Jacob informed me. I gulped, surprised at the thought of Sam ever dating anyone else. The way he interacted with Emily seemed to contradict the existence of any other woman to ever be in his life. Although, I couldn't be too surprised, people do fall in love with other people. "They were high school sweethearts and it looked like they were going to get married too. It devastated Leah though when Sam suddenly left her from Emily, her second-cousin and someone she considered to be her sister."

"What the hell!" I yelled, jumping off of Jacob's lap. "That sick bastard! I can't believe he did that. What the hell is the matter with Emily for even going out with Sam! How could they do that to poor Leah? How could anyone be so heartless."

"It's not that simple, Rio. They didn't want to hurt Leah," he said, trying to pull me back towards him. I fought his hands though, choosing to keep my distance from him on the couch. Right now, I was on Leah's side, I lost all respect for Sam and Emily. "Rio, what do you know about imprinting?"

"Fingerprinting?" I asked.

"No, imprinting," he corrected me. Obviously, I didn't know what the hell this was so he was going to need to fill me in. Jacob had a thinking look on his face before finally leaning in, snatching my hands while I wasn't paying attention. "It's another condition of being a wolf. Like the transformation, the joint telepathy, our deathly high body temperature, and the decelerated aging, imprinting is something else we have. It's both a gift and a curse. When we imprint, it basically means that we found our soul mate."

Wow, I didn't really think the whole soul mates thing really did exist. Okay, I kinda did, but not so much now because of the whole conflicting feelings I had for Jacob and Edward. I still didn't understand why Sam would purposely hurt Leah and shatter the relationship she had with Emily, let alone why Emily would go along with it.

Jacob seemed get that by looking at me as he started to explain again. "Imprinting is a powerful thing, Rio. When we find that person, we are completely locked onto them," he said, calmly. "It's like gravity pulls us to them, its magic if you will. Everything else ceases to matter and we just have the strong need to be whatever they need or want. Even the imprintee feels the pull of their imprinter on a physical and emotional state. Basically, we have no choice on the matter and it can happen at any time. In the end though, it's what will make us the happiest. Sam kind of hates it though. He's incredibly happy for being with Emily, but he feels terribly guilty about what he did to Leah and Emily. If he had denied the imprint though, Sam would be in an unspeakable amount of pain because he's preventing himself from going to his true love. He's just one, messed up puppy."

"I honestly feel sorry for all of them," I said, once Jacob was done. "It's not fair that it had to be like that for them. As incredibly romantic as that sounds, it just doesn't sound right if it hurts someone else in the end."

"Jared got it easy," Jacob said. "He imprinted on this girl in his class a few months ago, Kim. She's been in love with him since like freshmen year. One day, he just looked at her and he said it was like the universe spoke to him, telling him that she was the one. They've been together since then."

And I heard how fondly Jacob said that last bit about the universe speaking to Jared. It peaked my curiosity as I turned to Jacob, noticing a look on his face. That's when it began to dawn on me. Could it really be possible?

"Jacob," I whispered, "have you…have you imprinted…on someone?"

I peaked from the corner of my eyes, looking through the bangs that were blocking my sight. He turned away from me and I saw a tense look on his face. My heart was hammering against my chest, anticipation burning against me as I completely stopped breathing. I was afraid to hear if it was possible, I was afraid to hear if he had imprinted on me.

"To be honest," Jacob said, "I can't say." His hands no longer held onto mine as he pushed himself to the other end of the couch. The sudden rift made my heart hurt as I tried to interpret what he meant by that. "From what Sam and Jared said about imprinting, I think I feel it…for you. But if I really did imprint then my feelings would be far stronger than they are now. And if I really did then you'd feel the same too. You'd physically want to be with me and you wouldn't be able to even look at anyone else but me. Just like how I can't stop thinking about you and wanting nothing more to be with you. It hurts, Rio, but I honestly don't know what hurts though. I don't know if it's you rejecting me or if it's just because I'm stupid enough to push you away too. It's hard for me to tell if its real or not. Everyone makes fun of me for it and it's just so frustrating because I don't know what's up or down anymore."

"Maybe," I whispered, "it's because I'm not all human or just because I'm a boy. Sam and Jared imprinted on human girls. I'm a boy and only half-human, the other half is elf. Maybe the elf part of me is repelling the imprint on both of us or maybe there is no imprint to being with and it's all in our heads. But…I will admit though that I feel hurt too, for you. I feel guilty about staying away from you and I want nothing more than to be with you, but there are so many complications. My body says yes, but my mind tells me to stop. I don't know what to think about this either. Maybe, maybe you did imprint on me or maybe it's just regular love."

Jacob gave a heavy sigh as he drew closer to me. His arms found their way around me again and this time there was no fighting at all on my part. I really needed to be held right now. I needed to try and figure out just what was going on in that head of mine.

"We're both just really screwed up, aren't we?" he asked. "I know I've said it before, but the both of us have a lot of issues."

"It would help me if you'd at least pretend to be nice to Edward when I'm around," I told him. "He pretends for me even though he pretty much hates you."

"The feeling is mutual," he said, calmly.

"Jacob."

"I know, be nice."

I patted his leg as I thought more about what he shared with me. Could it possible that we really did imprint? Was our imprint so wrong or there were just too many forces at work that it was a broken one? Or were we just a messed up pair who was confusing an imprint with something entirely different?

All I knew was that I just wish I could figure out who I should chose to be with…my body was screaming Jacob so I guess that was a start.

I sat there for another hour though before finally saying goodbye so I could go home. Jacob tried to convince me to stay, but I really did need to get back before Charlie got home. The real reason, I didn't want Alice to call Edward and start a nasty war while Victoria was still running around. Who was going to protect me if the Cullens and wolves kill each other?

"I'll be back soon enough," I told him as we reached my truck.

"Promise?" he whispered.

"Promise," I told him.

Jacob started to smile at me as he pulled away from me, waving me off as I drove off the property.

* * *

FIN!

That was only the beginning of Eclipse too. Who knows what other insanity I have in store.

Plus, those of you wondering about the imprint, its still up for a debate. Neither one knows if its a real imprint or just really strong love...and you won't know for a bit! maybe the next chapter :]


	12. Eclipse II

Author's Note; TEEHEE! I hope you guys like this chapter since I worked so hard to write it for you. Just so you know, the next chapter will have the big moment we've all been waiting for...at least that's what I'm planning. I already have an ending figured out and there will be a whole new everything for Breaking Dawn. Yup, you'll even get a hint to what's going to happen in this chapter! :] So read and review.

**Switzerland:**

As I drove back to Forks, I noticed something shiny from rearview mirror. There was a soft smirk forming on my face as I kept on driving and ignored the Volvo behind me. It looked like my charming vampire had returned from his hunting trip early no doubt because Alice told him that I skipped town. I didn't blame Alice though; she was just doing what she was told. Edward was just being a bit of a control freak right now, but I couldn't blame him either though.

Like Renée said, I'm awesome.

Returning my attention to the road though, I eventually arrived to my house to see that Charlie was already parked in the driveway. The silent Volvo kept its distance from my house when I flashed a dirty look to its driver. That should keep Edward back for a few minutes, at least until I could get something ready for Charlie to eat unless he got something. Lately, Charlie's been going through a fascination with KFC, I'm more of a Popeye's kind of guy though.

"I'm back, dad," I shouted, loud enough to wake him up from his nap.

Charlie picked himself up from the couch, obviously snoozing with the TV on again. He rubbed his eyes and then looked over at me with a slightly surprised look on his face. "Where you've been all day?" he asked me. "Mrs. Newton left a message ages ago about how you had the day off. She said she couldn't reach your cell."

"Yeah, so I went to work and made a fool of myself," I said, discarding my sweater. I hoped out of my shoes and left them by the doorway before dropping myself on the sofa next to him. "Since I had all of that free time that you so graciously gave me, I decided to go see Jacob for a little while."

"You did?" Charlie said, straightening himself up.

Don't think I didn't hear that happy tone, pops! I already know about all that favoritism you have for Jacob, not that I could deny it since he was a decent guy. "I did," I repeated. "He behaved for once, which is a miracle so I enjoyed having a civilized conversation with him. I'll try to go see him again tomorrow, maybe, if don't have to work again tomorrow. I should probably ask Mr. Newton first before leaving school though just to be on the safe side."

"That sounds like a good idea, kid," he said, smiling. "Oh, you don't have to worry about dinner tonight either."

"Is it a KFC night?" I asked.

"No," he said, squinting his eyes at me. It was kind of funny how made he got when I dissed his new obsession with fried chicken. He never seemed to light up for that much joy when I made him my friend chicken. Jacob liked my fried chicken. "Sue brought over some food to the station today. There's plenty of soup leftover for you, I already had my third bowl."

I rolled my eyes as I got up from the sofa. "Piggy," I said, laughing at him. I poked him on the stomach for good measure as I started to walk up to my room. "You better get to work on the abs, dad. I'm not sure that Sue would like to shack up with an overweight cop for the night."

"Ilario!" Charlie's voice was mildly threatening.

"Joking, dad," I said as I opened the door. "You're a total stud."

He yelled at me again, while I just closed the door and saw Edward sitting on my bed. Obviously, the humorous skit I had with my dad didn't seem to cheer Edward's stunning stalker issues down a bit. There was only a lot of anger in those bronze eyes of his, which I didn't seem to care about. It was already nine and I was getting a little tired plus I did have some homework I needed to type up really quick.

I ignored his presence as I began to get out of my work clothes that I failed to use today. I tore off the shirt and dropped my pants down to my ankles as I stepped out from those. "You gonna sulk there or are you going to tell me how mad you are that I snuck away from Alice's sight?" I asked him. I went over to my dresser and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of clean briefs. I felt that a shower was in order since I knew that Edward was about to stress me out a little.

And whenever did he disappoint?

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Edward said with a sudden growl. He sprang up to his feet and was in front of me in less than a second. His cold body hovering over my nearly nude one didn't seem to frighten me a bit as I stared him straight in the eyes. "I nearly broke the treaty rules just to make sure that the dog didn't do anything to harm you! If he had done anything to you, Rio, I would've burned La Push to the ground!"

I put my hand over his mouth, pressing it with gentle pressure. "You need to quite down," I whispered. "Charlie is downstairs and unless you want him bargaining in here then you need to remember to behave." I removed my hand from his freezing lips then twirled around to turn my iPod on from its speakers. Now with loud, rock music playing, it would make it harder for Charlie to listen in to whatever we were going to say.

I looked back at Edward, shaking my head at him as I went over to my window. I sat down on the edge since I fit there perfectly with my hands and clothes on my lap. "The wolves would've destroyed you had you went to La Push," I told him. "You would've started a war just because you can't trust me."

"No, Rio, I trust you," he said, firmly. "I don't trust Jacob Black. He's a wolf, Rio. When are you going to understand that werewolves, especially young ones, are dangerous."

"And when are you going to understand that Jacob would never do a thing to hurt me?" I asked him. "He would never attack me. The worst he can do is say something nasty to me. He would never hit me, bite me, or in any other variation of physical pain."

"You're so reckless," Edward said, shaking his head. It looked to me as if he wasn't even trying to listen to what I had to say and that frustrated me. If these boys could learn to listen to me just once then everything would be a lot better. We'd all be skipping along in La La Land, drinking wine, and smoking pot. "You're going to get yourself killed one of these days. Victoria won't even have to lay a finger on you…"

"Thanks for the confidence," I said, getting up from the window sill. "If you're only here to make fun of my survival skills or insult my choice in friends then you should probably go."

"You can't be friends with him," he said, softly.

For the last time, I rolled my eyes. I dropped my clothes on the mattress and spun around to face Edward. "I'm getting really sick of you telling me what I can and can't do," I snapped. "I'm also tired of you hiding everything from me. You can't marry someone that you don't trust, Edward, or someone who only wants to control you."

"It's not like that…I just don't want you around like Jacob."

"One of these days," I said, shaking my head. "You know what, I'm just going to lock you and Jacob up in a maximum security prison! There you two can just fight each other to the death so I don't have to put up with you to any longer. This is getting really ridiculous and I don't know how much I can take."

"Rio…"

"Hm, maybe there can be some type of oil involved," I said, licking my lips. "You'll both have to be naked while fighting too. That's another condition I just thought of. And if turns into some crazy, sexual tension releasing sex then so be it. At least this way I won't have to choice between one of you, I can keep you both."

"You're insane," Edward said, walking up towards me. His hands began to graze over my arms with a sad look on his face. I guess he wasn't too fond on the whole sharing me deal. "Why would you even suggest something so insane? He smells horrible, even the scent you have from hanging around him is making me uneasy."

I had to disagree though as I broke away from him. I held my hands up, while shaking my head, still in my underwear. "Don't care anymore, Edward," I said, avoiding his gaze. "I'm Switzerland now! I'm a neutral party in all of this madness. Until the nations of Jacob and Edward learn to communicate like civilized countries then Switzerland-Rio will have nothing to do with either one."

"Rio."

"That's Switzerland to you, mister!" I said, pointing at him. "Now, excuse me. Switzerland needs to take a shower."

Edward just rolled his eyes at me as I retrieved my clothes and ran off to the bathroom. The hot water felt exhilarating and refreshed all my tired nerves from the long day that I had. When I returned to my room, Edward was on my bed with an apologetic look on his face. This time, I caved a little as I went over to him and kissed him goodnight. I fell asleep as soon as he left, he needed to go back to hunting mountain lions with Emmett and Jasper.

But morning eventually arrived so that meant another fun-filled day at school. Christ, I couldn't wait until I graduated from that hellhole. At least I had to look forward to helping Angela work on her invitations coming up this weekend. It would be nice to have a chat session with her since she did not judge nor pry nor gossip like certain people I knew.

Dear old dad was long gone when I got up that morning. Since I showered last night, I took advantage of the extra time I had to make a warm breakfast for a nice change. I had adjusted too well to the time difference in Forks. I had become a lazy teenage boy who slept in until the last possible minute if absolutely possible.

With a belly full of warm food, I grabbed my keys and was about to go to the Beast when I saw the Volvo parked in the driveway. Alice was leaning against the door with sunglasses on, pretending to be all dangerous and cool as she did so. Not that she wasn't dangerous or cool, she was both and I had to remind myself that when I looked at her innocent face. Alice didn't look like she could hurt a bunny, but I heard that she was dangerous if provoked.

"I'm guessing you're my chaperone?" I asked.

"No, dear Rio," she said, trying to sound innocent. "You and I are having a girl and gay boy sleepover party for the next two days! Charlie already approved of it. It's just going to be you, me, Rose, and Esme at the house."

"So I'm being held hostage while Edward I away so I won't run off to La Push?" I corrected.

Alice bit down on her lip as we got in the car. She knew I had her beat and there was a little more to the story then she was willing to let out. But unlike Edward, she was way more honest with me and that's why I liked her best! "He's bought me the Porsche," she confessed. "It's exactly like the yellow one I stole in Italy. I can't drive it in town, but we could totally test how fast we can get to Los Angeles and back!"

"Another time, Alice," I said. There was no way I was reliving how fast she could drive in a Porsche. I was surprised though. Apparently, I was worth as much as a Porsche. I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or complimented. I think I'll chalk that one up as a compliment since Porsches are a very expensive car.

I played nice with Alice that day, while I motioned through the day without any unusual trouble. Mike told me that I didn't have to work the rest of the week since they were training Melanie, my future replacement. I didn't mind though, I was quitting soon enough anyways. There was enough money already in my college fund to get me through for a semester or two.

Maybe not if I was forced into going to Dartmouth like Edward wanted. I'm still willing to bet that the only reason I got in was because Carlisle bought like a new wing to the library or something.

When the day ended, Alice practically dragged me to the parking lot to where the car was parked. I didn't even think about running off to La Push, but clearly Alice wasn't playing around. You never do joke around with a fortune teller. They somehow always get you back later on.

Alice already had my bag packed full of everything I needed for our sleepover jam. I behaved as much as could be expected despite the growing rift between Edward and me. Therefore that meant there was a rift growing between me and his family as well. As much as I loved being around the Cullens, I somehow felt that would drastically change if I chose to be with Jacob. It would hurt if I become alienated from their immortal lives, but I don't know honestly. I just tried not to think about of all that mess.

That didn't seem too hard since Alice was a total schoolgirl as she forced me to swing into full sleepover mode. Esme had some awesome Italian food waiting for us, the good stuff from Port Angeles. Well, it was waiting for me more than anyone else. Rosalie was present as well, but she kept her distance for the most part and only spoke when spoken too. I was as nice to her as possible, but she was still beating herself up for what happened last spring.

It was until night began to stroll around that I started to get a little angsty. Alice was giving me a manicure and pedicure since she was so sure that I desperately needed one. My nails weren't that bad, at least compared to most guys. Just because I wasn't a flawless immortal didn't mean that I should be judged! I'm only half-elf, not a full one so get off of my case.

While Alice decided to pain my toenails with some flashy, red polish, I grabbed my phone and stared at it for a moment. There was no new alert of any kind on there. Nada from Edward or Jacob or anyone else. Not even my mother bothered me, not since lunch when I told her I was spending the night here. I guess she took that as code for that I was going to have hot sex with Edward so leave me alone.

"Don't," Alice said, looking at me.

"Don't what?" I asked her.

"Call Jacob."

I hadn't even thought about that one until just now. I began to smirk and started to dial her number just as Alice reached to snatch the phone away from me. Somehow, I managed to play keep away with the vampire just as the phone began to ring.

"Back off, crazy woman!" I said to Alice.

"What?" Jacob's voice said through the phone. "Rio?"

"Hey Jake," I said, cheerfully. "Sorry about that, I'm busy being held hostage by the crazy lady painting my toenails."

"Okay?" he said, sounding confused.

"I'm having a sleepover with Alice since Edward's away," I told him. "So it looks like I won't be going to see you for a few days. I hope you're not too disappointed. Alice, I said no pink nail polish!"

"Pink looks good on you!"

"No pink!" I shouted at her.

"You sure you don't want me to break you out?" Jacob said, his voice sounded a little harsh.

"I'm good, Jake," I told him. "I just wanted to let you know what's happening that way you won't worry too much. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright," he sounded a little disappointed. I felt a little guilty for that. "Bye Rio."

"Bye Jake."

I hung up the phone and felt stupid for calling Jacob in the first place. It probably hurt more to hear that I was being held "hostage" and not able to do anything about it. Or it could be the fact that I wasn't able to keep my promise and spend more time with him. Hopefully, Embry and Quil will be able to distract him long enough until Edward shows up or an opportunity to sneak out presents itself.

Alice eventually released me from her styling grasp once my toes were dry. She escorted me upstairs to Edward's room where I'd be sleeping for the night. I tried to tell her that I didn't need to be shown around and that I knew the way when she pushed the door open. My jaw dropped as I saw the major difference in the room.

Everything was pushed aside to make room for this massive, king-sized bed and the elegant frame that went with it. The frame looked sturdy and had a flowery design to it. The sheets looked so soft like they were stolen from the fucking White House or Buckingham Palace or something extra special like that. The stitch work was just incredible.

I had just planned on sleeping on the couch, but clearly Edward wanted me to be comfortable on this gaudy bed.

However, that was not what I had in mind since I was mad at him. He had me locked up in this house with his family, keeping me from having proper communication with Jacob. Sure, this was just his way of protecting me from getting hurt, especially with Victoria running around again, but seriously dude! I don't need the Secret Service to protect me, I just want Spiderman or Superman watching over me.

Anyways, I just stole a pillow and tore off the blankets before making myself comfortable on the couch as I tried to go to sleep.

* * *

**Unhappy Ending:**

I had maybe been asleep for about ten minutes when there was a soft knock on the door. I picked my head up, wondering who would be bothering me when I heard someone's voice on the other side. Much to my surprise, the voice belonged to Rosalie who was the last person I was expecting to see. I was just about to get up to let her in, but she had already gracefully glided into the room.

Rosalie drifted over to the bed, briefly glancing at the mess I made on it. She smirked only for a second before sitting down on the rumpled sheets. "Do you mind if you and I have a talk?" she asked, softly. "This is the only chance I'll have to talk to you, in private."

"Sure," I said, sitting up on the couch. "What do we need to talk about?"

"How much do you know about my past?" she asked, suddenly. I told her nothing since Edward wasn't fond of airing out everyone's dirty laundry. Despite being a mind-reader, he didn't think it was proper to share everybody's secrets. "Always the gentleman, Edward. Well, would you like to hear my story, Rio? It doesn't have a happy ending, but which of course does? If we had happy endings, we'd all be under gravestones now."

Well, she really wasn't that fond of being a vampire, despite being the most beautiful woman in the world. I stayed silent though so she could tell me her story.

"I was born Rosalie Lillian Hale at Rochester, New York in 1915," she said, smiling. "My mother was a housewife, my father was a successful banker, and I had two younger brothers who I loved dearly. I had the perfect life, even when the Great Depression hit. My father still made enough money where we didn't feel the effects of poverty."

"I was adored by many for my beauty, this was a blessing for my social-climbing parents. With a daughter as beautiful as I was, they could marry me off to any wealthy man in the state, possibly in the country. The constant adoration I received was enough to rot anyone, I developed plenty of vain, narcissistic, self-centered traits because of my upbringing, but I didn't care at the time. At the time, I thought it would be stupid to ignore my beauty, why shouldn't I be praised for it, why shouldn't everyone love me for it? Why shouldn't my parents buy their beautiful daughter so many pretty dresses? I had the perfect life, but when I met him it was the beginning of the end for me."

"His name was Royce King II. His father owned the bank that my father worked at, they were wealthy, and they were at the highest status in the city. My parents used every trick in the book to bring us together and it worked. Royce sent me dozens of flowers upon our first meeting, even after he proposed to me. It was perfect, it was going to be everything I ever wanted, only it wasn't so."

"My best friend, Vera, married before me to a construction worker. She was so happy with him and she eventually had his son. This handsome, baby boy had the most adorable dimples you could ever see. I envied her for having what I wanted: a happy marriage and a beautiful baby. I knew I would have that soon enough with Royce though."

"However, it wasn't meant to be. I had left Vera's house one evening. My home wasn't too far away so I didn't even think about calling my father to escort me home. It seemed so silly to do so, but it would've made all the difference. While I was walking home, I ran into Royce and his friends, they were all drunk and it made me nervous. I'll spare you the details, but I'll just say that Royce and his friends left me for dead once they were done seeing just how pretty I was."

I had a horrible feeling what happened at it made my stomach sick just thinking about it.

"Carlisle found me in an alley, slowly dying. He saved me and turned me into one of them. I wasn't so sure at the time how I felt about that, being rescued by Carlisle. Despite being a doctor, Carlisle wasn't that popular in town neither were Esme and Edward. They kept themselves hidden that everyone in town worried that they were up to something."

"Edward was the loudest to protest my change. Apparently, Carlisle made me just so that Edward would have someone like he had Esme. He rejected me though and it made me so angry once the pain of the poison began to lessen. I nothing more then to yell at Edward for denying someone so beautiful, but it made me so sad at the same time since he rejected me. When I looked at myself in the mirror though, all that seemed to change. I was so beautiful once the change was completed that Edward's opinion didn't matter. If only I had known back then it wasn't because I was unattractive, but because he was gay."

Rosalie began to chuckle lightly after that. I wasn't sure if this was the end when she started to speak again. "Has anyone told you I murdered five men, but never once slipped up on our diet? Never once did I drink the blood of the men I killed," she said, smiling. "After the change finished, I hunted down Royce's friends who were there that night and killed them. I made sure to save Royce last though, I wanted him to know that it was me that was coming for him, I wanted it to drive him insane. He had two guards protecting him, but that wasn't enough. Oops, that's seven men I killed. Anyways, I went into Royce's room, he was cowering in fear as the theatrical me wore a wedding dress so that there would be no denying my vengeance. I killed him that night and returned to the Cullens after that."

There was a soft sigh that escaped Rosalie now as she cleared her head of those thoughts. I didn't know that Rosalie killed anyone, but I couldn't blame her considering what they did to her. "1933 was the year I was changed and two years after that, I found Emmett in Tennessee," she almost whispered. "Stupid boy had gotten himself mauled by a bear. I might have slipped up and drank from him had he not looked so much like Vera's baby. So I carried him for a hundred miles, begging Carlisle to save him. Since that day, Emmett and I have been inseparable. It's not…it's not the type of love that I dreamt about when I was human, but it's the best I will ever have. Emmett honestly loves me and I love him too. It's what I should've had with Royce, but fate is cruel."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I whispered. I had a fear tears escaping me as I listened to Rosalie's story. It was so horribly heart-breaking and depressing that I couldn't help but to bleed for her. Despite being so vain and bitchy sometimes, underneath all of that was a real person. There was so much more to Rosalie then I ever thought possible. "What was the point of you telling me your story?"

"Because I need you to understand what you're doing, Rio," she said, firmly. "You have the choice to continue being human, I didn't. I wouldn't wish this half a life for anyone. Rio, you can still do so much with your life, but you're going to throw it all away and become like one of us."

"It's what I want though," I told her.

"It's being stupid," she said, calmly. "Once you change, Rio, there is no going back. Everyone you know and love will eventually die until you're all that's left. Anything you may have wanted for your human life, you will never have once you change. All you'll have is Edward and us, nothing else. No parents, no friends, no children. If you can live eternity knowing that and you're truly willing to accept that then…then I suppose you aren't that stupid after all. But if there is even the slightest part of you that may regret the decision later on, please Rio…don't go through with this. Stay human, stay alive."

"You're beginning to sound like Jacob," I mumbled, softly.

Rosalie started to laugh as she got up from the bed. She patted the wrinkles on her pants down as she continued to look at me. "Fido might be right about something," she told me. "Just really take the time to think about this, Rio. Don't rush into this, please. I'll be happy to take you in as a brother, if you decide that it's what's truly best."

I nodded my head as she turned around to leave the room. She said goodnight before leaving alone to think about everything that she said. I could sense the tragic trend between all of their stories. From all the stories I heard so far, each one of them met a tragic end before becoming what they are today. Was it right for someone like me, someone who isn't in "immediate" danger of dying to throw it all away?

Yes, Victoria and the Volturi were interested in me. Yes, it could mean my eventual demise, but why should I give it up though? The Cullens and Jacob already promised to protect me, no matter what. I had supernatural powers that were protecting me now too. Was this really that good of an excuse?

My exhausted mind began to strike as I finally drifted off to sleep on the couch.

If only I could've stayed asleep though.

_My mind was very active as I appeared on the Dreamscape once more. I appeared in the pajamas that I wore to bed, while Freyr stood over my shoulder like the godly being that he was. Freyr wore silky pants with a loose shirt to cover his being as his silver hair flew in the imaginary breeze. The youthful-looking god placed his hand on my shoulder and leaned in until his lips nearly touched my ears. _

"_The choice is difficult for you to make, allow me to show you the two roads before you," he whispered. "Let me show you what your future will be like if you chose Edward or Jacob."_

_Freyr's power began to encompass my being, blinding my sight as I felt a sudden loss of control over everything. He abandoned my side and left me alone in the middle of a forest. The smell of nature was strong even on the astral plane, but that wasn't what bothered me. It was the fact that I stood alone on an open patch of land with the sun beating down. _

_Emerging from the woods was Edward. He had a playful look on his face as he wore all white and glistened against the sunlight. His diamond skin was blinding, but this wasn't all that Freyr wanted me to see. I saw myself running after Edward, in a similar outfit, and as the other me crossed the sunlight, my skin began to shine like diamonds as well. _

_The two of us glistened together and the other me pushed Edward against a tree, shaking the tree with remarkable strength as our lips met._

_I could see that this was the future where I chose Edward. I could see the wedding ring on the other me. The other me accepted the proposal and now they were married. He would keep his promise and change me, we'd be together forever. _

_Before I had the chance to see anything else, Freyr appeared beside me. His hands touched my shoulders as he held me close. "You'll be happy as you spent your immortal lives together," he whispered. "Now, you must see the future for you and Jacob."_

_A part of me almost wanted to tell him not to show me. I was happy with what I saw with Edward, but it wouldn't be that simple. The god transported me to the living room of an unfamiliar house where the pictures were blackened out. Most of the décor was blurred out as well, but I could see toys scattered all over the place. _

_I was about to question what I was doing here when Jacob appeared from the front door. He hardly looked any older then I saw him before. He wore a cheerful smile on his face as his deep voice called out my name. There was another me that came from another room. The other me looked a little older, defiantly in the twenties. The other me kissed Jacob on the cheek as he handed over a bag. _

"_Grandpa Charlie will be thrilled to see the kids," the other me laughed. _

"_Of course, hopefully Jay and Ellie don't tie Andy up again," Jacob said, shaking his head. "Those two really need to learn to stop picking on their little brother, and Andy needs to learn to stop doing everything his brother and sister tell him to do."_

"_He's two, Jacob," the other me said. "Of course he's going to do everything they tell him to. Now, go drop them off at Charlie's before Jay and Ellie try to do anything else to my poor Peanut."_

"_Got it, babe," Jacob said, kissing the other me on the cheek. "Love you."_

"_Love you too," the other me said, closing the door._

_As the other me closed the door, I caught a glimpse of a wedding ring and there was a sharp pain in my chest _

I woke up after that, gasping for air as I returned to the conscious realm. My head was pounding furiously as I found myself on the floor with my face buried in the pillow. There were dried tears there and I felt wet ones still on my cheeks.

Did Freyr really show me my potential futures or was I just hallucinating? Well, the pain where my heart was felt like sign enough that it was all true. I curled up a little as the sun started to reach above the trees that surrounded the home. Edward's room was illuminated and I was left really thinking about what I was supposed to do.

With Edward, I would have immortality and we'd be married. If I was with Jacob then I would be married to him and somehow we'd have kids. The nicknames of these kids were enough to bring more tears from my eyes: Jay, Ellie, and Andy.

"I'm a complete mess," I said, picking myself up.

There was a knock on the door with Alice gracefully making her way inside the room. I was holding onto the blankets and the pillow that had fallen off the couch with me. A worried look showed on Alice's face, I could tell that she wanted to know what happened. Even she couldn't see what Freyr showed me last night.

Alice was about to open her mouth to say something, but I shook my head. I told her it was nothing and that I needed to great for school. She dropped the subject and turned away to give me my space. I flopped down on the bed, looking around the room to see if this was what I really wanted to have. Jacob did bring up a good point, being a vampire was defying the natural order by living forever. Could you really blame me for it though? But what if Jacob and I did have an imprint, could I subject him to a lifetime of pain by staying away from him?

Oh lordy, Freyr's vision quest brought up more issues then solutions for me.

I got ready in record time though as I tried to repeal all thoughts of last night. The only one that remained persistent where of my conversation with Rosalie. She brought up very good points too. Everything she wanted was taken from her and this life was forced upon her. I had the power to choose what I wanted, my decision would affect a lot of people either way I went.

Even with all of these thoughts running around my had, I managed to meet Alice downstairs before she grew impatient. She happily escorted me to the garage where the Volvo was parked, next to a shiny, yellow Porsche. She kissed the Porsche's hood and offered to take me to Los Angeles instead of school, promising plenty of sunny skies along the way. I told her to take me to school, while laughing at her as I did so.

As we pulled out of the garage, I caught sight of Rosalie walking around the house. She turned her head briefly towards us and I found myself waving at her without even thinking about it. She waved back before walking away to do whatever it was she was going to do. Alice seemed to notice this and asked what happened with her last night.

"We just came to an understanding of each other," I told Alice. "That's all."

"Okay then," Alice said, driving at full speed to the school.

Alice abandoned me as she skipped off to class, running into Angela along the way. I reminded Angela that I was coming over that weekend to help with the invitations and she screamed thank you from across the parking lot. I glanced at the clock and saw that I still had a few minutes to class so I slowly made my way to the campus. My mind started to wander on about what Edward was doing and what Victoria was planning with me.

That was until I heard that familiar roar of a motorcycle. I spun my head around to see a bike screeching towards me and saw that the driver was Jacob. For a second, my mind flashed to the older Jacob I saw from my vision, the loving father of three children. Before I had the chance to question what he was doing, he threw a helmet at me.

"Get on!" Jacob said, strongly. "I'm busting you out."

A smile crept up on my face as I ran over to his bike. I caught Mike looking at us, a completely baffled look present on his face, while Jessica stood beside him with her jaw dropped. "Cover for me?" I asked them. "Just say I got really sick and left." They both nodded their heads, still in shock of what just happened.

I jumped on Jacob's bike with the helmet on my head and my arms locked around his waist. Jacob took off at full speed, an excited yell escaping him as he busted me out from prison. I began to howl with him as the wind whipped against our backs.

* * *

**Temper:**

The freedom was absolutely exhilarating for me. I couldn't stop screaming with joy as Jacob took us across the boundary line. I picked my head up, looking up to see that the skies were clear for a change and felt an unfamiliar source of happiness in my chest. The happy feeling made me feel all bubbly as I looked up to see that Jacob had turned his head back to face me just for a second though.

His eyes returned to the road until we arrived to his home. I hoped off the bike and threw his helmet at him, making him stumble back to knock his bike over. We laughed for a moment until I heard the front door opening and saw Billy rolling on out. I suddenly gulped, fearing that he was going to tell Charlie about me skipping school. Then again, Charlie would find out from the school calling the house.

Billy didn't look like he was going to give me a lecture about skipping though. In fact, he looked happy to see me there as he waved at me from the porch. "Nice to see you, Rio," said Billy. "Jacob, don't break anything."

"Alright dad!" Jacob said as he picked his bike back up.

I glanced back to see Billy return to the house, shaking his head as he did so. I could've swore I heard a light laugh coming from him while Jacob passed by me with the bike in his arms. He was carrying it all the way to the garage, something I wasn't too surprised to see him do as I followed his lead.

The better part of the day was just spent talking about random nonsense. I kept the contents of my vision a secret from Jacob though. I wasn't sure I should tell him about what I saw unless I was absolutely certain that I wanted to be with him. So while I kept this secret, Jacob talked to me about every little detail about what I missed since I've been…away.

School was the most uninteresting part of his life. He would've dropped out had Billy not convinced Sam to use the Alpha Voice to prevent him from doing so. Sam used his status as Alpha to order Jacob to finish school that way he wouldn't be a useless bum. I started to laugh at him, well, it looked like Sam was a little more decent then I gave him credit for.

I tried to ask Jacob about any future career goals in mind, but he kept his lips shut about that one. I guess he wasn't that certain what he wanted to do either. Not that I could blame him, what could a werewolf do if he was tied down to a pack and had to protect his people from evil vampires? I'm not sure he'd like being a Wal-Mart greeter or a cashier at the Newton's store.

Maybe a mechanic would be a good career path for him. He liked fixing cars, bikes, and trucks. He could make his own hours. He could work from home. It would be a perfect fit for him, he even seemed to like the idea a bit when I suggested it to him.

After all of that though, we started straying back on track with the pack stuff. Jacob even mentioned to me that someone else had imprinted. I was anxious to know who it was, curious that it may have been Jacob and that my vision was false. It turned out that it was Quil who imprinted on someone, I was happy for Quil and relieved to hear that it wasn't Jacob.

"Who did he imprint on?" I asked. "Anyone I would know?"

"You wouldn't be able to guess in a million years," Jacob said. "Now, please Rio, I need you not to judge, alright? You might be a little weirded out by who Quil imprinted on. Heck, we were too, until we saw just what the imprint meant to Quil. All the old legends about being wolves seem to be coming true, which is starting to worry all of us a little. We don't know where the truth begins and the myth ends."

"Just tell me who it is, Jacob, "I said, firmly.

"Alright, Quil imprinted on Emily's niece," Jacob said, calmly. That didn't seem weird, why would that seem weird? I was about to say something when Jacob cut me off though. He placed his hand over mine as we sat on the lawn outside of the garage. "There's a catch. Quil imprinted on Emily's two-year-old niece."

Jacob removed his hands from my lips, which was a big mistake to do. It just came out like word vomit, I couldn't control what I was saying at all. "That's fucking disgusting!" I shouted, loud enough for all of La Push to hear. "Ew! How could Quil? Ew! He's a fucking pedophile! What's wrong with that boy? Did his parents drop him on the head when he was a baby?"

"Rio!" Jacob said, covering my mouth. His firm hands kept any of the other words I was spewing from being heard. I couldn't stop though, this was just too disgusting. Why in the world would Quil imprint on a child! It's just sick. He wants to mate with a kid! "It's not like that," Jacob promise, obviously hearing some of it. "Imprinting is weird and different. Remember how I told you that when we imprint, we're whoever our imprintee needs?" I vaguely remembered something like that so I nodded my head. "Well, Quil doesn't see Claire in a sexual way. He sees her as a little sister that he needs to watch over. As she grows up though, Quil will develop into everything else she'll need. He'll be her best friend, he'll be her protector, and when she's old enough and ready then he'll be her boyfriend."

"It's still not right though," I said when Jacob let go of my lips. "What about Claire? Doesn't she have any say in this? What if she doesn't want to be with Quil? Not that Quil is a bad guy. Quil's a total sweetheart, but still. What if he's not who Claire wants?"

"Why not?" said Jacob. "They're soul mates. There's nobody else that Claire will ever want to be with more than Quil. When she's old enough to understand that she'll choose him above anyone else. Gravity will keep the two of them together."

I gave off a heavy sigh, this imprinting stuff just seemed to weird for me and there was no way that I was going to be able to get it. I just shrugged my shoulders and gave into what Jacob had said. I prayed for Quil's sake that he never developed any pedophilia urges for Claire. Just thinking about it made my skin crawl and think that God was a very cruel being. Why would He make Quil imprint on a toddler? That's just so wrong on so many levels!

It was with a heavy sigh that I drew myself away from Jacob, the grass rubbing stains onto the jeans that I was wearing. Oh well, it would be easy to clean off so that didn't really matter to me. Jacob was quick on trying to close to gap between us as he scooted back towards me, but I kept myself distant from him though.

He let out a disappointed breath as he turned his head away from me. Suddenly, he fell back on the grass, lying perfectly flat on the ground. "You know that if Edward turns you that the treaty is off and we'll be enemies, right?" he said, abruptly. I told him it didn't have to be that way, but he ignored me. "They made the rules, we just agreed to them. The only reason we're not hunting the Cullens down right now is because they promised that they would never attack a human or change one. If Edward changes you then we have to retaliate."

"You don't have to, Jacob," I said, softly. "I'm not all human, remember. Can we just let the rules slide this once?"

"No," he said, firmly. "I don't care if you're so willing to throw your life away, Rio. I'm going to do everything I can to keep that from happening. I don't care if you'll hate me for it, I'm not going to let you join the undead community."

"It's none of your business though," I mumbled, but he didn't hear it. "If I go through with this, Jacob, you're telling me we'll be enemies? No matter how hard I plead, we can only be enemies from then on?"

"Yes," he said, with an uneasy amount of calm. "But…we shouldn't worry about it so much now. You still have plenty of time to listen to reason. You won't change for what…a few more years?"

I shook my head as I curled my legs up to my chest. There was no point in sugar coating it, he needed to know the truth. "More like weeks, Jacob," I corrected. "If I accept Edward's proposal and marry him then he'll turn me right away. So…the soonest will be after graduation."

"What!" Jacob said, furiously. He flew up to his feet and shook his head at me. He was yanking on his black hair, avoiding looking at me as he got away. "You're joking, right! Please tell me you're joking, Rio! You can't hand yourself over to the parasite that soon! What about Charlie? Have you thought about how this will affect him? And your mom too! How can you willingly do something so thoughtless!"

"They're safer without me around," I confessed.

"You can't marry that bloodsucker, Rio," Jacob said, his chest heaving. "You can't."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," I said, avoiding thoughts of my vision. "Marriage is the deal breaker for Edward. If I don't marry him then he won't make me a vampire. He really seems to think that I'll refuse and that way he can keep my human."

"Good, stay human!" said Jacob. "I'd rather you be dead then a vampire."

Ouch! I heard all the hurt in his face, but that didn't seem to matter as I clenched onto my chest. It was my turn to look away as I slowly began to get up. Jacob already started to apologize, but I ignored him as I heard the roar of thunder above us. The clouds had already been growing restless during our talk outside and it looked like it was about to rain at any moment.

I could smell the rain through the tears that were building up.

"Well, I'm glad to know how you feel, Jacob," I said, tears escaping me. "I need to go now. I've clearly warn out my welcome."

"Rio, I'm sorry!" Jacob shouted as he tried to stop me.

I kept my hands away from him just as the rain began to come down. It came down like bullets, hammering away at us both like the last time he hurt me. "No Jake, I was wrong," I told him. "I was wrong to believe that the vision meant anything. There's no way you and me will end happily married with kids."

I didn't bother to register the look on his face nor the questions he started to fling at me. I ignored him, I ignored his existence as I started walking back to Forks. It would be stupid to walk though so I started to tap into my magic. With the blink of the eye, I felt the environment change as I appeared on the Cullen's driveway.

My feet touched the ground and I was away from Jacob now. He would probably be freaked out by my disappearing act, but I didn't give a shit. Once again, Jacob hurt my heart bad and I wanted nothing to do with him right now. I didn't even want to think about him, his dumb smile, or that dumb future I would have with him.

I ran over to the garage and saw Alice sitting on the hood of the Yellow Porsche. She gave a disappointed sigh about how she didn't even get to drive it once. Feeling some guilt, I apologized to hear, but she pretended she was fine. She then noticed how soaked I was, she guided me inside the house to fix some warm soup while I took a shower.

When I came back downstairs, I ate the soup she made with Esme's help. None of us talked about what happened, I wasn't in the mood to talk about my day. Even Rosalie noticed the tragic change in my appearance and I couldn't tell what she even thought about that from the confused look on her face.

I thanked them all before going back upstairs to Edward's room and collapsed on top of the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

Damn you, Jacob, for making me fall for you then kicking me down.

* * *

**Target:**

Sleeping didn't seem to help me feel better at all. I spent most of the night tossing and turning on the king-sized bed, while my dreams were plagued of the visions I had of Edward and Jacob. The vampire and human-elf me were at conflict with each other as the dreams fought for dominance over the other. Just like my achy, breaky heart. I had no clue who to give myself to, who I loved the most.

It was enough to make me cry as I continued to throw a fit on the bed. Freyr's vision only did more harm than good to me. The happy future I saw with Jacob was crushed by him being such a jerk. I couldn't stand it, but I couldn't just give up. This was a lot for Jacob to take in, how was he supposed to react to the boy who he MAY have imprinted on was going to hand himself over to a vampire. I honestly think I would've reacted the same, but I still couldn't just forgive him for what happened.

My mind didn't stop being so restless until cold hands touched my cheek. I opened my eyes to see Edward laying beside me with his usual worried look on his face. I tried to hide all the tears that I had shed, but it was a rather pointless thing to do.

"You ran off with Jacob on his bike," Edward said, softly.

"He's a jerk," I whispered into the pillow. "I don't want to talk about the big dumby."

"What did he do now?"

I didn't want to say, but Edward's gaze was persistent and wore me down eventually. It was with a heavy sigh that I curled up closer to him to tell him what happened that afternoon. "He told me that he'd rather I be dead," I finished. "I just can't believe he would say something so hurtful. I mean…I get what he was feeling, but I just can't believe he would say that."

"If you want, I could kill him now," he said, softly. "I'll make him regret ever hurting you."

"No," I whispered against him. "I don't want that at all…I wouldn't like it. I just want all of this hurt to stop. I wish Freyr never showed me my future."

"Your future?" Edward asked with much curiosity.

With another sigh, I straightened myself up and began to talk about what Freyr showed me. I told Edward what my future with him would be like. We'd be married and I'd be a vampire, we would be very happy together. Then I told him of the future I could have with Jacob. I would be married to him, I'd still be human, and most importantly we'd have three kids running around. That's why Jacob's words hurt more than usual. It was the fact that I saw the future I could have with him that made the pain so unbearable.

I collapsed onto the mattress with Edward sneaking his arms around me. He held me as close as possible, rubbing my back as I continued to cry softly. He tried to change the subject as he told me about what happened on his hunting trip and I told him how Rosalie and I had a nice talk. Edward already knew how Rosalie kind chewed me out for wanting to be a vampire, but I defended her because she didn't want to see someone else suffering for this life. He seemed to respect that as he kissed me goodnight.

Even with him here, sleep was hard to come by so when morning showed up, I was a complete mess. It was difficult to survive the next day at school. I was snoozing through most of my classes, but thankfully nobody seemed to notice. I was able to fly so low on the radar that nobody registered my existence and I made it through the day without much difficulty. Despite the fact, I felt like I got smacked with a ton of bricks because of the lack of sleep and latest Jacob drama.

I had Angela drop me off since Edward needed to talk with Alice about some things. I waved him off as I stuffed all my shit in Angela's car. She reminded me not to forget about that weekend so I could save her from paper cuts and dry tongue. Once more, I promised to be there for me as she parked on the curb. I said goodbye to her and sauntered my way into the house, Charlie was already home, which was a little odd.

"Hi dad," I said, dropping my backpack and dirty clothes on the floor. "Did you miss me? Did you manage not to starve to death?"

"You're so funny, Rio," Charlie said, rolling his eyes at me as he came from the kitchen. "Sue cooked most of the time. Those kids of hers…they're something else. Seth looks like he shot up about a foot, while Leah looks like she could take Jake down. Speaking of Jacob, he called while you were at your sleepover. He seems really sad, what happened?"

The little bit of happiness I had was squashed by the mere mention of Jacob Black. I furiously grabbed my shit and started to make my way to the staircase. "Jacob is the biggest asshole to ever walk on the Earth!" I shouted at Charlie. "I hope he drowns in his own vomit."

"A little harsh, aren't we?" Charlie said, following me up the stairs. "I can't be that bad, Rio."

"Here's the Cliff Notes version, he said he'd rather I was dead then be with Edward," I said, throwing my stuff into my room.

Charlie was completely silent, I totally had him there. The whole mentality that Jacob was a saint was shaken to its very core. There was no way that Charlie could rebound from that one, he barely whispered that he was sorry before turning away and walked back down the stairs.

I closed the door, locking it as I slumped down to the floor. I couldn't help it but those damn tears won every time. I couldn't stop crying for a couple of minutes. I can't believe that I let myself be hurt by Jacob again. When was I going to learn?

By the time I finally pulled myself together, I decided that I was in need to do some serious laundry. I started to collect all of my dirty clothes when I began to notice a few shirts and a pair of underwear were missing. Even one of my pillows were gone. At first I thought when Alice liberated some of my things that she just put them away by accident. But these clothes were nowhere to be seen.

The odd thought that Charlie did laundry while I was away danced across my mind. When I asked him though, he said that he didn't go into my room while I was gone. I was beginning to think that I was going senile or something when I went back upstairs. I started diving under my bed to see if it may have crawled under there while I was away. Nothing though, it was like my clothes just disappeared.

I was really beginning to wonder if someone was just playing a joke on me. Somebody better give me back my pillow before I started cutting somebody. Wait…did Jacob steal my stuff? I mean, my underwear is missing. Maybe he's developing some creepy fetish deal and is like making a doll version of me.

Ew, that was just a gross though.

Before anymore weird thoughts could come up, there was a knock on the door. I was running down the stairs just as Charlie said it was Edward and still sat on the couch as he did so. I shook my head at Charlie for his laziness as I swatted him in the head before opening the door. Edward stood there with a frightful look on his face like something was really wrong.

He entered without any invite in, the look growing darker. "Your room," he whispered, "now." I barely nodded my head as I followed him upstairs. I wanted to know what was going on so when I closed the door, Edward practically pounced on me. "Someone was in here."

"Alice and Charlie were here before," I confessed.

"This isn't their scent," said Edward. "A stranger was in here…a vampire."

My heart stopped beating when Edward mentioned that the stranger was a vampire. When my heart started to beat again, it was hammering against my chest as fear started to grip hold of me. Had Edward not been so certain that it was a stranger who was here, I would've thought it was Victoria or even someone from the Volturi.

It was scaring me half to death as I thought more about it. A possibly deadly vampire was in my house, Charlie could've been here when the monster was hungry. Oh God, Charlie could've been killed because of me. Wait, why was a vampire even in my room to begin with? Why did it steal my stuff?

"The vampire took my stuff," I whispered to Edward. "My pillow and some clothes I wore are gone."

Edward's face lit up with a greater amount of fear. Not even he could cleverly hide his panic as he snatched onto my wrist and said we need to go. I agreed as I followed him downstairs, telling Charlie I was going out for a bit. He barely lifted his head up before we were out the door and on the road.

In less than five minutes, Edward had me in his house and yelling for everyone to come. At his voice boomed throughout the house, Six vampires came running, each one wondering what the hell was going on. That's when Edward told them that a stranger had went to my house and that he was a klepto vampire.

"Alice, why didn't you see anything!" shouted Edward. "Rio's life could've been in danger! He could've been attacked if it was waiting for him to come home."

"Calm down, Edward," I said to him, "it's not Alice's fault."

"You're already spreading my mind thin," Alice said, defending herself. "You have me watching the Volturi and Victoria and Rio and everyone else in the damn town. Things are starting to fall through the cracks, I already told you that I'm going to miss a lot of things if I'm too busy focusing on multiple people."

"You should've tried harder," he said, firmly.

Carlisle snatched onto Edward's arm, dragging him away from Alice. Jasper bore a strong look and I could tell that he was trying to calm Edward down so that he'd listen to Carlisle. "Enough, Edward," said his maker. "This isn't Alice's fault. The blame can be put on all of us for not smelling the stranger's presence. It only means we need to put a guard up around Rio at all times. Especially if it stole Rio's belongings that means it's after his scent."

"Which means he'll be in a lot of danger," whispered Esme.

"Then that means we need to kick someone's ass!" cheered Emmett. "Let's go hunting now."

"Does anyone think that this stranger could have anything to do with the newborns in Seattle?" Jasper finally interrupted.

That made the room go completely silent, while I began to have mini panic attack. It was Rosalie who helped me to sit down on the sofa as everyone else began to talk about the millions of theories that it could be. The most obvious being that this stranger could have something to do with the Volturi. Even though Alice was watching them like a hawk , someone could've just as easily been acting out on their own without any "decisions" being made by Aro, Marcus, or Caius.

All of these thoughts brought shivers down my spine as I curled up into a mini ball on the sofa. I tried not to listen to them or even think how wild this situation could develop. If my strangers and the newborns had nothing in common then that meant for sure that the Volturi would come here to Seattle. And if that happened, what would stop them from coming up to Forks? That was if my stranger hadn't killed me or did whatever it wanted to me before then.

The fact nobody knew who the scent belonged to was the most terrifying thing of it all. It could literally mean that it was any vampire on the entire planet could be after me. Someone we didn't know, somebody who had some type of grudge with the Cullens, somebody who was even just hungry and looking for a fun game.

When they finally stopped talking, Edward drove me home and made countless promises to keep me safe. I couldn't take him seriously though since we had no idea what was going on. I even tried to go under and ask Freyr for help, but the god wasn't listening to me right now. All of us were in the dark about this third party that seemed to want my head.

Even with Jasper and Emmett watching the area around my home, I was still terrified as I succumbed to a heavy sleep.

* * *

**Scent:**

The constant living in fear wasn't doing anything to help my psyche at all. My mind felt fragile and I was on high alert even with my vampire friends watching over me twenty-four seven. The uncertainty of being attacked left my nerves in a state of shock. And still, Freyr was no help as he continued to avoid speaking to me through my dreams or sending me visions of any kind. So I relayed on practicing everything he's ever taught me, while staying away from the memory of the visions he sent me.

Charlie wasn't helping to keep the memories away though. The day after I told him what happened, he already tried to beg me to speak to Jacob and how I just needed to try and listen. I was only making things more difficult for Jacob, at least that was Charlie's explanation. He said I needed to keep stringing him along and toying with his poor feelings before something happened that would leave the both of us hurt.

I had to admit that Charlie did have a point. And I'm not saying this as one of those stupid girls who's boyfriend/husband beats them and they keep saying I love him and he'll never do it again, I shouldn't have provoked him. Technically, I was provoking Jacob, I was subconsciously trying to get these reactions from him. If I didn't want the drama then I'd keep my mouth shut, I wouldn't thrive from it.

Ugh, seriously, since Edward left last year, I've been developing some serious masochistic issues. I practically get off now on inflicting pain on myself. When would the madness end and my sanity/reason return?

It was late Saturday afternoon when I finally left from Angela's house. I finished helping her make the invitations so I was going to back home where Edward and Jasper would follow me to. At least until I saw Jasper running off on his own, while Edward followed me in the Volvo. I would've wondered what was up, but I didn't think twice about it as I drove home.

My mind was on Jacob now. I did feel guilty about everything that was happening between us. I hated how we were becoming so antagonistic to each other. There was a share of the blame that could be put on me here. I needed to try and make amends for this since it was Jacob that was trying to reach out to me this time.

My feet were dangling from the kitchen counter when Edward finally came into my house. I was busy dialing Jacob's number that I didn't pay attention to the cocky smirk that had appeared on his dazzling face. "I knew you wouldn't last," Edward said, sitting beside me. "You're caving in and apologizing to Jacob. I thought you would've apologized soon."

"Since when have you been Team Jacob?" I asked, holding back from pushing talk.

"I'm not," he said, smiling, "but I don't like what this is doing to you. With me and Jacob forcing you to chose then behaving so despicably, it's no wonder that we've left you so scared. Besides, I know how Jacob feels in all of this. You don't have to be a mind reader to know that this situation sucks and its hurting all of us. The sooner you decide, Rio, the better. But until you make the decision to spend eternity with me or have a human life and family with Jacob, I will behave honorably."

"Thank you," I whispered as I pushed talk.

The phone barely rang for a second when Jacob finally answered the phone. An excited bolt of energy escaped him, I could practically feel it through the phone lines. "Rio! I'm so sorry!" Jacob said, loudly. "You have no idea how bad I feel. What I said was so stupid. I should've never even thought about it, let alone think it. I will do anything to make it up to you! I'll even free you from being my slave from Valentine's Day, and I'll offer up a lifetime of servitude to you in exchange! Just please forgive me."

I started laughing into the phone. I can't believe I gave up my freedom for a box of candy hearts last Valentine's Day. Damn do I have low standards or what? "You're forgiven, Jacob," I told him. "I shouldn't have tried to throw all of that you in the first place. I should've known that you would've reacted like that. I should have behaved too."

"No, Rio, you're perfect," Jacob said, softly. "I'm the asshole in this story."

"Let's just agree to disagree," I told him. "There's something else I need to talk to you about. A stranger was at my house…a vampire."

"What!" He damn near blew my ear apart. "Are you and Charlie safe?"

"He didn't hurt us, but he did take some of my stuff," I confessed. "Edward thinks that the stranger might be back so him and the rest of the Cullens are working on security for us."

"Is he there?" Jacob said. "I need to talk to him."

"Sure," I hesitated as I handed the phone over to Edward.

He graciously accepted the phone and held it up to his ear. I could barely hear Jacob's voice, but from what I could tell he was speaking calmly. Edward remained his composure as well as he started talking to Jacob about whatever was going on.

I could only catch bits of the conversation. Something about Jacob needing to discuss the boundary to Sam, there was something about convincing me about La Push, and one bit about how the stranger was completely unfamiliar. Edward barely mentioned how they were worried that this stranger could be connected to the murders and missing cases in Seattle.

Edward returned the phone to me with a slight smile on his face. It was his pleasantry that really worried me more than a mysterious stranger coming to suck my blood. I placed my phone back against my ear to resume talking to Jacob.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked Jacob.

"Edward and I came to an understanding," said Jacob. "Your safety means more to me then how much I hate him. So, I'm going to try and talk to Sam about fixing the treaty a little so that we can keep an eye out for this stranger. The Cullens will watch their territory and we'll watch ours then we just have to wait so we can squash this parasite before it can get you."

"You do understand that this is dangerous, right?" I told him.

"Rio, I live for danger now. I'm coming over to your house to try and pick up his scent that way the rest of the pack will know what we're hunting for. I'll see you soon. Bye Rio!"

The line went dead as Jacob hung up on me.

I pushed end and looked over at Edward who looked a bit smug. Clearly, he was taking this courteous thing very seriously. He spoke with Jacob in a civilized manner and they even managed not to threaten to cut each other. Huh, maybe there was hope yet for them.

Either that or they were just really trying to butter them up where I'll blindly fall for either one.

So with that taken care of, I tried to calm down my wrecked nerves because of the issue that was going on here. In a few minutes, Jacob would be here and I don't know how long his patience would last with Edward around. I was about to ask Edward to leave when he interrupted and said he needed to check on the others.

"Try not to get into a fight with Jacob," he said, half-sincerely. "I don't like it when you're sad." Now that part I could tell he meant with all honesty.

Edward disappeared from the house and I was left letting out a heavy sigh. I walked back into the kitchen where I stared at the massive pile of dirty dishes that were waiting for me. Obviously, Police Chief Charlie Swan couldn't be bothered with doing the dishes. It fell on the shoulders of his son, Ilario Swan to take care of that.

This man was going to need to shape up because I wasn't sure how Sue would appreciate that…if those two would ever admit that they were going out!

I was busy scrubbing down a pot when I heard the doorbell ring. I yelled at Jacob to come in as I continued to scrub when I felt his outrageous body heat radiating from behind me. I didn't pay too much attention to him as I tried to scrub off this last bit of scum from the pot.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to leave your door unlocked like that?" Jacob asked, his lips hovering away from my ear.

"Why should I bother locking it?" I asked. "Everyone who wants to kill me won't be stopped by a locked door. They could just kick or punch it open."

"Good point," Jacob said, he lightly chuckled.

I turned around to properly greet him when, not to my surprise, I discovered that Jacob was damn-near naked. I rolled my eyes at the vein boy as I turned back around to focus on the dirty dishes that were piling up. Seriously dude, I get it, you have a hot body but do you really need to walk around everywhere without a shirt on? Granted, I find it sexy, but after a while it just gets really annoying.

"For the love of God, Jacob, will you please put a shirt on!" I told him. "This is getting ridiculous. You're always practically running around naked."

"Sorry that my clothes don't magically reappear when I change," Jacob defended himself. I have to carry everything I wear, see." He pointed towards a belt that was tied around his massive leg that was partly covered by his cut denim shorts. "It's hard enough to carry a pair of shorts, it's a lot harder to carry the shoes, socks, underwear, and a shirt too."

"You don't wear underwear now either?" I said.

"Nope, I go commando whenever I know I'm going to be in wolf form," he told me. "I'm going to sniff the place out. You said that the bloodsucking stranger was in your room?"

"Yup."

"I'll be back in a minute then."

Jacob's heavy feet ran up the stairs up to my bedroom. I thought about the last time I had Jacob in my room. If I remember correctly, it was the same night that he tried to tell me what he was but couldn't because of Sam's orders. That had only been a little more than a year ago, but it felt like it was so much longer. It felt like it was a lifetime ago, not a year.

I was left thinking about all those simpler times until Jacob finally descended the stairs. He joined me in the kitchen once more where he grabbed some of the drying dishes. I hadn't notice he had a towel in his hand until I heard him opening the cabinets. A smile formed on my face, he was helping me do the dishes, how sweet of him.

"I'm really sorry about the other day, Rio," Jacob said as he put a cup away. "I just…I just didn't know how to respond to that. How else was I supposed to say when you told me you were going to be a vampire?"

"Yeah, I know, Jacob," I confessed as I finished cleaning a plate. "The way I told you…it wasn't right. It wasn't fair either. I should've presented it in a kinder way that way you didn't have to get pissed off. I shouldn't have told you like I was mad at you, that it was a punishment."

"Like I said before, we're just both insanely messed up," he said, laughing a little.

Without thinking about it, I started to join him. We both laughed together for a minute, but the room went to silence as we continued to do the dishes. I eventually finished cleaning and I stared to help Jacob put everything away. The awkward silence was beginning to feel awfully uncomfortable more so then I'd like.

Jacob was not meant to be silent. He was too big and friendly of a guy to be this silent. I was used to him just breathing kind loudly. This was just too silent and it felt a little annoying until he finally said something! Although, I really wished he said something other than that.

"You said about a vision," Jacob said, softly. "You said us being married and having kids won't happen. What did you mean by that?"

I sighed as I started walking over to the living room. Jacob followed me without hesitation, I could tell by the look in his brown eyes that he was desperate to hear my answer. I collapsed on the sofa and he joined me, his hands followed on his lap as he leaned closer towards me. The cat was already out of the bag, I might as well explain to him what happened.

"Freyr showed me what the future could be like for me," I told him. "If I chose to be with Edward then we would be immortal and together." Jacob managed to restrain any hostile urge he had to lash out when he heard that. I was grateful that he could hold his tongue better this time so I decided it was only right to tell him about our future. "But if I chose you then…then we'd be married. In the vision, you were talking about dropping our kids off at Grandpa Charlie's house. I didn't see them, but I did hear their nicknames: Jay, Ellie, and Andy."

"We get married?" Jacob repeated. "And we have kids?" A smile formed on his face as he leaned back against the soft cushion. His arm were wrapped around his stomach now with the smile that was plastered onto his face that looked so magical. Part of me wanted to say that I chose him right then and now, but I restrained myself from speaking.

I just basked in the happiness that Jacob was oozing from his pores until he finally straightened himself up to look at me.

"You still don't know who you want though?" Jacob asked. "I can see it in your eyes. You still don't know if you want to be with me or Edward."

"I'm sorry," I whispered to him.

Jacob sighed as he began to nod his head. He leaned over from the couch and kissed my forehead with his warmth growing stronger as he got close to me. The heat from his body filled me with so much warmth and hope that I didn't feel so afraid of the unknown, all of my unknowns. I rolled my eyes up to see him pulling away as he sat back down on the sofa.

"Rio, whatever you decide," Jacob began to say, "I can live with it." His smile had waned at that point and I felt a little guilty about it. I clenched onto my heart as I listened to his next words. "I really want you to be with me though…I want us to have the future that you saw. I want us to get married and have those kids that we're probably going to have to adopt." There was a slight chuckle that escaped his throat from that last part.

He started to get up and I followed him up without thinking twice. The smile returned to light up his face as he gently took hold of my free hand. "There's a bonfire tonight at the beach," he told me. "Everyone will be there. Billy is supposed to tell some of the old legends about the tribe. I would really like it if you came, if you be my plus one."

I laughed at how dorky that sounded. I nodded my head though, silently agreeing to go with Jacob to La Push. His smile brightened more as he hugged me tight before saying his goodbye to me. He disappeared through the back door and I felt the spark of magic in the air as he changed into a wolf. From the window, I saw Wolf-Jacob disappearing into the woods to return to La Push.

The front door opened up with Edward returning to the picture. A weight dropped down on my heart as I tried to figure out a way to explain this one to Edward. How was I going to sneak out to La Push now with a mysterious stranger running after me.

"You're going to the beach?" Edward said.

Of course he heard everything. He either heard us talking or Jacob purposely broadcasted the thought.

"I am," I said, softly. "The pack will make sure I'm safe. Nothing bad will happen to me, I promise."

"I know," Edward said, nodding his head. "Go get yourself cleaned up. I'll drop you off at the boundary line."

"Did you hear that I told Jacob about my vision?" I asked, suddenly.

Edward nodded his head as he continued to stand by the door. He was like a statue that stood guard of my house "Yeah, I was listening in on your conversation," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I'm glad that you told him. It was only fair that he got to hear about your future together like I heard about us. Did it help you make a decision though?"

"No," I said, softly, "but it helped being able to talk to you both about it."

"Good," Edward said.

Yeah, that was good.

I disappeared up the stairs to get ready for a party on the beach, well, it would be more like story time.

What would be the appropriate thing to wear to this function?


	13. Eclipse III

Author's Note: Oh, you people will love me for this one. Haha. I did everything I could to make this chapter good. I got a little lazy for some of the backstory so I went to Twilight Wiki for A LOT of help. So, some credit goes to them! I forgot to mention the songs from the previous chapters and there will be one for this one too! From Twilight we have "When the Day met the Night" by Panic at the Disco, New Moon had "Blame it on the Weatherman" by B*Witched. This chapter will feature "Back to December" by Taylor Swift. I think you'll see why. P.S. My new fic, Power Rangers Angel Force comes out this week so you're going to want to check that out! I'm so excited for that one. Anyways, read and review!

**Legends:**

I was taken to the imaginary boundary that marked the end of "Cullen Territory" and the beginning of the Quileute land. Jacob waited for me in the parked Rabbit as I slowly stepped out of the Volvo, wearing a green flannel shirt that was unbuttoned to show off the white t-shirt I had underneath with a pair of jeans that were slightly torn. I comfortably approached Jacob's car, waving goodbye to Edward before stepping inside. Jacob wasted no time in starting the engine and hauling ass to put as much distance between us and Edward.

Why wasn't I that surprised to see Jacob half-naked once more? He still choose to not wear a shirt, but he at least wore a baggier pair of cargo shorts. I shook my head at him before begging him to put a damn shirt on. He promised that he had a t-shirt in the back that he would put on as soon as we got to the bonfire.

A smile formed on my face as I embraced the ease that it felt to be around Jacob. When he wasn't being a jackass, I really enjoyed being around him. It was like last year again back when he was just plain Jake and the sweetest thing around. At least I had the memory of him in my heart before the wolf started to show his face.

Jacob parked on the gravel road that led up to the big bonfire that was brewing in the distance. I saw plenty of familiar faces mixed in with a few that weren't that familiar. Guilt reaped its ugly face when I saw the Clearwater family there. Sue was sitting beside Billy and another man who I found out was Quil's grandfather, Quil Senior. Jacob explained that Sue took over Harry's place on the counsel. I looked away from her, still feeling a little guilty about Harry's death when I noticed Leah. Her long hair was cut almost pixie short, but she seemed as exotic as ever even with the gloomy look on her face. She was sitting beside her mother and would occasionally shoot bitter glances over at Sam and Emily.

The bitter truth about the love triangle almost reminded me a little too much of what I had going on with Edward and Jacob. But before I could think anymore of it, an oddly familiar boy ran towards us and tried to tackle Jacob. The boy was stopped though when Jacob quickly snatched him and lifted him up in the air, forcing the boy to cry uncle.

"Nice try, Seth," Jacob said, dropping the boy on the sand. "You're nowhere near wolf enough to take me down."

"I'll get you sooner or later, Jake!" Seth said with plenty of gusto. He sprang back up to his feet as I noticed the innocent feature had changed since I last saw him. He had grown a lot and was as tall as me now, but he had cut his hair short too…like the rest of the pack. "Watch your back, Jake! I'm going to catch up to you one of these days. Oh, hey Rio!"

Jacob only laughed as he pushed Seth back to the bonfire, over towards Quil and Embry.

My jaw was dropped as I saw it for myself. When Seth turned around to flash us his smile, I saw him flash into a small, gangly wolf with sandy fur and large paws. I looked over to Leah for only a second when I saw her image phase into a small, sleek wolf with light-gray fur. I felt myself clenching onto my chest as I took a step back, shaking to regain my breath.

"Rio!" Jacob said, mildly panicking. "What's wrong?"

"Seth and Leah," I whispered, "they…phased, didn't they?"

Jacob sighed as he nodded his head at me. He wrapped his large arms around me as he slowly began to escort me over to the bonfire. He briefly explained how only a few months after Harry's death that Leah and Seth phased shortly after they learned about the wolves. It was triggered by the brother and sister when Billy told them and their mother about imprinting. It was then how they all learned how Sam so "easily" moved on from Leah to Emily. The mixture of that betrayal and the death of their father was what triggered the siblings to change.

Leah was the first female wolf in the history of the tribe, something that they all thought to be impossible. Seth was only the youngest of their pack, but he is also one of the youngest to phase in the history of the tribe. Two strange occurrences were all that it took to shake up the dynamics of the pack. Especially, since Leah was throwing hateful psychic thoughts as Sam whenever they were in wolf form, something that the rest of the pack had to suffer with.

"It would be cool to have a chick on our side," said Jacob, "if only Leah wasn't always throwing her bitter thoughts around. It drives us all crazy. We would vote her off the island if Sam wasn't so nice about it. Then again, I suppose I could relate to her, in a way."

He left it at that as we finally made it to the rest of the group.

Sunset was spent laughing and minor arguments spreading with the party. Jacob got into a hot dog war with Paul, they were trying to see who could eat the most hot dogs. In the end, Paul won, only because he cheated and stole Seth's hot dog when he wasn't looking. Jared tried to snatch it back, but Paul only growled before inhaling it. At least Jacob won when it came to eating the most family-sized bag of chips and liters of soda.

Just watching those two idiots was enough to make me sick. I could only roll my eyes at them when I finally noticed the girl beside Jared. This must be Kim. I took a moment to look at her and found her oddly plain looking. I could see why or how Jared could imprint on such a girl, but then I noticed the way how he looked at her. In his eyes, she was a goddess. Her plain features were magnified a hundred times to make her look better than any other girl in the state, maybe even the world. Every part of her just radiated with warmth and beauty that it began to make sense why Jared was so drawn to her.

I noticed that look with the way that Sam looked at Emily. Despite her scarred features, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world from his point of view. Even with Leah bitterly glaring at them both, not even with her new, wolf powers could she break through that happiness. The guilt was present with them both though, but they were happy and in love.

I looked back at Jacob who was sitting between my legs as I sat on a beach chair. He was busy chugging down the last of the two liter, while I had been looking at everyone else at the bonfire. When I least expected it, Quil and Embry sprang up from behind me, scaring me half to death that I made Jacob choke on the last of his Coke. Those two idiots started to laugh, while Jacob threw the empty bottle at them as Seth helped me back up.

"I think your theory is bogus, Quil!" Jacob said as he threw another liter at him.

"Which one?" asked Embry said, laughing as Quil dodged the bullet.

"The fur one," said Jacob.

"Come on, man!" Quil said, defensively. "You know it's true, just look at Sam. His fur is all black and we all know he's got a black heart."

Another liter flew at his head, this time hitting the mark. Quil winced while turning back to see an angry Sam glaring daggers at him. "So," Sam said, slightly angry, "you're chocolately fur is supposed to mean what that you're so sweet?"

"Damn straight, captain!" Quil said, picking the bottle up. "And remember, give a hoot and don't pollute!"

I started to laugh at the cheesiness at all, Jacob and the others joined me too.

Billy called for everyone's attention, making everyone shut up as the fire crackled against his skin and gave him this sage-like look.

"Most of you are familiar with the history of our people," said Billy. "However, there are many here who have yet to hear the most important of our story. This is the history of your powers and our war against the Cold Ones. We come from the proud spirit warriors who were blessed with a great power. They could leave their bodies at a moment's notice and use their spirits to protect our people from the invading tribes."

His words filled my mind with many pictures as I listened closely, while Jacob rested his head against my right leg.

The legend goes that one spirit warrior, Utlapa, wanted to use this power to enslave neighboring tribes: the Hohs and the Makahs. Unwilling to use the warriors' powers for such monstrous purposes, his chief, Taha Aki, banished him from the tribe. One day, the chief left his body in a hiding place to sweep through the valley in his spirit form, searching the area for anything that may pose a threat to the tribe. Utlapa followed him and possessed his body, then cut his own body's throat to prevent Taha Aki's return.

The chief wandered for a while in spirit form, watching the thief do unspeakable things on his people. One day, the chief's spirit found a large, beautiful wolf in the woods. Though jealous of the wolf's physical form, an idea came to him. He asked the wolf to share his body for him, and the wolf agreed. Rushing back to the village as the wolf, he met a party of warriors, and he tried to make himself known by yelping Quileute songs. One of the warriors, an elderly man named Yut, realized that the wolf was under a spirit's control, and, disobeying the usurper Utlapa's orders not to enter the spirit world, left his body to talk to the beast.

The false chief, alarmed at Yut entering the spirit world as he feared that his treachery would be revealed, killed the warrior. Taka Aki became enraged, and lunged forward intending to kill the man; his emotions were too much for the wolf, and it transformed into a magnificent human, the glorious flesh interpretation of Taha Aki's flawless spirit. The false chief was killed, and things were rapidly set right. Taha Aki sired many children, and found out that his sons, at the age of manhood, could transform into wolves as well.

"Taha Aki and his sons protected our tribes since then as wolves," finished Billy. "Taha Aki aged slowly, as you all have noticed, and married three women in his time. His first two wives brought him many joys in life, but it was his third wife that brought him the greatest of happiness. She was his soul mate, the woman who she was truly destined to be with. It is thanks to him that you are who you are today. His blood courses through your veins, giving you the great responsibility and honor to protect our tribe from those who wish us harm."

"Our enemies have changed since then though," Quil Senior spoke up. "The neighboring tribes honored Taha Aki and his sons' abilities. In their time, the pack remained large, larger then it is today so that our people could live safely. Our tribe and the others lived together at peace for a long time, until a new enemy came that we had never experienced before. You know them as the Cold Ones, vampires."

Quil Senior went on to explain the story that left me completely mesmerized as the words fluttered from his mouth. Like Billy, I could picture everything that was going on in my head. My heart was pounding against my chest as I listened to the frightening history of the Quileute tribe on their darkest day as well as the greatest act of heroism.

After the disappearance of several Makah girls from their homes, Taha Aki's son, Taha Wi and five other wolves, including his half-brother Yaha Uta, went in search of their kidnapper, and happened across a strange, sickly sweet stench that burned their noses. Their search led them so far north that Taha Wi sent the younger wolves, Yaha Uta and another of his brothers, back to the Quileute village to report to Taha Aki. Taha Wi and his two other brothers never returned.

A year later, two more Makah maidens went missing, so Yaha Uta and his pack followed the sickly sweet stench that filled the Makah village until they happened across the Cold Man, standing over the body of one of the girls who had been drained of her blood, and drinking the blood of the second. They underestimated the creature's strength and speed, and one of the wolves was killed. The Cold One was crushing the second wolf when Yaha Uta, the youngest member of the pack, managed to rip its head off and tear the creature to shreds. Then he took the pieces of its body back to the harbor, where they were laid out for the tribe to inspect. The Cold One tried to reassemble itself though, so the pieces of its body were burnt and scattered, a bag of his ashes worn around Taha Aki's neck so that the chief would be warned if it ever tried to reassemble itself again.

Then, the Cold One's mate, the Cold Woman, came to the village, seeking revenge for her husband's death. Yaha Uta, the only remaining shape-shifter, attempted to kill her and almost succeeded, but he was alone and had no-one to distract her, so died in the effort. Enraged by the death of his son, Taha Aki phased into an ancient, white-muzzled wolf and fought the Cold Woman, but the Third Wife could see that he was failing. She took a knife from one of her younger sons and plunged it into her heart to distract the vampiress. Taha Aki was able to finish her, with the help of several of his younger sons, who were so distraught by the sight of their mother dying that they phased though they were still only boys. When the battle was over though, Taha Aki met an inconsolable heartache as he wept for days over the body of his soul mate. He eventually ceased to weep and left the tribe, forever remaining a wolf until the end of his days.

Everyone was left with a different swell of emotion around the campfire. Quil, Kim, Leah, Seth, and myself were the only ones who were completely unaware of the full-extent of the tribe's history. The others had known the stories, but we were the most who were affected by it. Quil's usual cheery disposition was solemn now, Kim was crying against Jared's chest, Leah was staring at her hands, and Seth was curled up into a ball as he leaned against Embry's chair.

I felt myself shaking as I thought about the heroics performed by the Third Wife. She was just a woman, a plain ordinary human. She was surrounded by supernatural beings, she was powerless in a world full of supernatural creatures, yet she is the one who saved their tribe. If she had not sacrificed her own life then the tribe would've been lost, many more lives would've been lost. Jacob might not be here. Hell, I might not be here. However, the least they could've done for this brave woman would've been to remember her name. To honor her for what she had done to ensure the safety of her people, of her husband and sons.

I hadn't even realized I was crying until Jacob raised his hand up to brush it against my cheek. I suddenly felt moist tears and felt like an idiot for crying, while he only smiled at me. I tried to smile back, but I felt myself unable too.

"Now," Bill continued, "you have all heard the story of my grandfather, Ephriam Black. His small consisted of Quil Ateara I and Levi Uley. They were the last pack of wolves to appear before your generation. They had forged the pact with the Cullens because of their alternate lifestyle. He created the pact solely to ensure the safety of our people. The Cullens outnumbered them, it would've been foolish to try and fight them."

"We can take them now!" Paul shouted, moronically. "I'd like to see those damn bloodsuckers try to pick a fight with us."

"Paul, silence," Sam roared.

That actually worked since Sam used the Alpha Voice.

Billy regained everyone's attention though as he leaned over his wheelchair to retrieve a bag. He slowly pulled something out from it, holding it up to reveal that it was a journal. "This diary belonged to my wife," he said, sadly. "In her is a story of great importance in light of a new development." I briefly glanced over at Jacob who was tensing up, I don't think he knew about his dad going through his mom's personal diary.

"When I first read this, I thought that Sarah was merely joking and just came up with a creative story," Billy said, fondly. There was a soft smile that crept up his face, I could see that he was thinking about her in his mind. Jacob was still tense though, but I placed my hands on his shoulders to keep him calm. "I thought it was a mere joke until Sue and Sam told me that they heard the same story from their mothers." He turned and placed the diary of his wife in Sue's hand. "Will you please tell us the story, Sue?"

Sue nodded her head as she held onto the diary with great care. She looked up towards all of us, a soft smile on her face when she finally turned towards me. "Our tribe has experienced many things since the first spirit warrior was born," she spoke, sweetly. "We've even fought against the fangs of the Cold Ones. However, this creature is different from all of them. They were beautiful like the Cold Ones, but they were warm and soft of flesh like we are. They also respected nature, the woods especially which is where they made their home. This is the story of the Fair Ones, but you all know them better as the Elves."

My heart skipped a beat as I suddenly felt electricity coursing through my veins. Did Sue really say the elves? The Quileutes had experienced other elves before me? Could it really be possible that the tribe had known of my kind's existence, which included Sue, Sarah, and Sam?

Jacob bore an equally shocked look on his face, while the rest of the pack briefly glanced at me. I had to assume that Jacob told them what I was so I tried not to blush because of that. They all looked away from me though so that they could turn back to Sue who was about to continue the story.

"The Fair Ones were remarkable creatures, so strong and beautiful and harmonious that our people thought them to be gods at first. They corrected us though and told us that they had journeyed from the vast ocean to escape the vampires that hunted their kind. Despite being so strong and having vast, magical talents, the Cold Ones knew their weaknesses and attacked when they were at their most vulnerable. The elves appeared half a century after the Cold Woman was vanquished. They lived in the woods and helped our people during our times of need with their magic. It was said that their song and dance could entrance a man that he would not age for a hundred years so long as the elves continued to sing and dance. The elves were a valuable friend to use and they stayed that way for another two hundred years."

Sue paused for a moment to take a breath. She held onto Sarah's diary, opening it to the page that Billy had no doubt marked for the occasion. It was then that she began to read the words of Sarah Black. "'They left without warning'," Sue said, reading from the diary. "'Our dear friends left without any warning. A few of the men went after the elves only to see them flock to a meadow. The elves did their sacred dance and sang a prayer in their native language. It was then that a bright light opened before them and the elves began to flock into the light. When the light was gone, there was not a single elf left. They were gone. Our friends had left us for places unknown'."

Billy received the diary back and placed it back in the bag on his lap. He regained everyone's attention, I was left wondering what he was about to safe next. "When the elves left, for a time, our tribe was lost," he said, calmly. "Our people could only assume that the elves fled because they felt a Cold One attack was looming near. We prepared for battle and prayed that our friends would return to us. The attack never came though and neither did the elves."

"At least, not all of the elves," said Quil Senior. "A half breed is with us today. He is descendent of our great allies and seems to share a fate that it is tied to our own."

Yup, everyone was looking at me again. Just put a sign on me that said freak!

Hearing the story from Sue that was passed on through the generations and written down by Jacob's mother was touching. I felt moved by the way that the tribe thought so fondly of the elves and truly seemed to miss them once they left. The looks everyone was giving me though was enough to make me nervous. Some of the looks were those of fear, others were of worry, and Paul's screamed that he wanted to kill me.

"Hopefully," I said, calmly, "we can all have a happy ending."

That seemed to lighten the mood up, at least with some of them.

The bonfire eventually came to an end as I slowly began to get very drowsy. I was yawning without any control and I soon found myself nearly falling asleep on the beach as soon as the fire was put out. For my last few moments in the conscious realm, I felt Jacob carrying me in his arms as his warmth radiated against my slightly, cold skin. The breeze that rolled off the ocean was downright bone chilling so I had no choice but to huddler closer against Jacob's chest.

Jacob carried me into his car though, helping me into the front seat. He got in his own seat and I heard him click on his seatbelt when I felt his warmth against me once more. I felt his lips hovering against my cheek before they made contact on my tired form. "Sweet dreams, Rio," he whispered to my ear.

I didn't bother to protest the cheek kiss or anything else because as soon as the engine roared to life, I was out like a light.

* * *

**Time:**

"I have foreseen the future," Alice said, in a mystical tone.

We were all sitting in the cafeteria at our usual table with each of us sitting on our usual seats. My tongue was still numb from having to lick all those invitations that I helped Angela with her invitation nightmare. I had tried to wash the taste out with everything but bleach, yet nothing was helping so I was almost desperate enough to try it.

Edward scoffed at Alice for the way she was talking. He only had to give her a nasty look, which looked unpleasant on his angelic face, which Alice only responded back by sticking her tongue out in a childish manner. I had to laugh, but Edward was less then amused as he scooted closer towards me with his face leaning over.

"You're not going to like what she saw," he informed me.

"Why?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

"Because we're throwing a fabulous party at our house that everyone in school is going to love!" Alice cheered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Our table was completely silent as everyone turned towards Alice or Edward.

"You're throwing a party?" Ben said.

"At your place?" said Austin.

"I've never been to your place," said Jessica.

"No one has," said Eric.

"I have to go!" Mike said with much enthusiasm. "We're invited…right?"

Alice went into full party planning mode as she told everyone in the table that they were invited. In fact, she said that the party was for our entire graduating class. My vampire friend made it clear she'd be greatly insulted if not everyone showed up.

I was flinching at the mere thought of my seventeenth birthday party at their place. I had to remind Alice of this quietly when I also made the mistake of saying graduation was still a long ways away. Alice promised there wouldn't be a repeat of that since she already foresaw it. Edward was the one who reminded me that graduation was at the end of the week. Tomorrow would be the last day for the seniors, I'd be free from high school hell.

Holy shit!

I checked my phone to see the date. He wasn't lying. It was already the end of May, graduation was only a few more days away. Everything felt so strange as I tried not to think about it. My impending decision was trying closer with each day that passed. I failed to notice just how little time I had left thanks in large part to my stalker running around and all the murders taking place in Seattle.

What was a boy supposed to do? Granted, I was eighteen years old and technically a man, I still felt like a boy as I struggled to figure out what I was supposed to do. Even though I behaved like nothing was wrong for the rest of the day, I could help but to feel anxious about everything that was going to happen.

Edward kept promising to grant me every human experience I could possibly have before I could be turned. Graduation was a big deal for him to keep that promise. I was willing to accept that simply because I had worked twelve years, not including Pre-K and Kinder, to make it this far. I really wanted to wear the Spartan cap and gown, get my diploma, and toss my cap in the air in a traditional manner.

But then I had to think about what would happen to me after graduation.

Charlie, Renée, Edward, Jacob…they were all the key factors to my decision. Could I just disappear from my parents' lives so suddenly and without any warning? I was their only child…how would they be able to stand the heartache? Sure, Charlie had Sue (if only he'd admit it) and Renée had Phil. They wouldn't be entirely alone.

Then I had to think about Jacob. It was obvious that Jacob needed me. He thought he imprinted on me, he deeply cared about me, and he made it clear that he would fight to keep me from becoming a vampire. How could I just abandon him? But could I abandon Edward though? I wasn't sure if Edward would truly stick around if I refused to change, if I didn't want to romantically be with him any longer. I don't know if I could survive him going away for a second time.

What was a boy to do?

Why did I have to make these life altering decisions? Why couldn't I just be a normal boy? Why couldn't my biggest worry be not tripping during graduation or getting drunk and having sex with an asshole guy. Or better yet just worrying about what I was going to spend the rest of my life working on.

But no, I had to worry about supernatural forces trying to kill me and my supernatural love interests fighting for me to be with one of them.

I dropped my face into the steering wheel of the Beast as I finally returned home.

Everything was just the sand that was slipping away in an hourglass. I was starting to run on borrowed time. I had at most a week to make my decision. It would be great if I could make one sooner just so I could fight all of this dread. If I accepted Edward's proposal then everything would be official. I'd be a vampire after graduation then I'd have to deal with the consequences of the treaty.

But if I refused the proposal then…that pretty much meant I chose Jacob. I could live a "normal" human life that could spend with Jacob. We'd be married and have those kids I heard about in my vision. That would be a nice way to spend the rest of my life too. And with any luck, my bad fortune wouldn't go to those innocent kids.

What am I going to do about all of this? I was dreading all of these thoughts as I slowly dragged my feet across the pavement. At least when I was home, the drama seemed to be pushed aside, but even that was slowly beginning to crumble. The stranger had shaken things up enough where nothing was the same anymore. I constantly had a bodyguard watching the house for any signs of intruders. Instead of feeling protected, I felt like a caged rat in my own home. Nothing was good enough to distract me from the nightmares that were waiting for me out there.

An unknown enemy running around while Victoria still wanted my head and the Volturi found me extremely interesting was not a good thing.

Vampires, vampires, and vampires…oh my.

I barely set foot into the house when the smell hit me like a ton of bricks. I take that back, I don't want to risk an actual ton of bricks falling on me. The musky smell was so strong that I began to cough, while Charlie came down the stairs and yelled at me to stop exaggerating.

"I'm not exaggerating, old man," I said, covering my nose. "What the hell did you do, dad? Did you set something on fire again?" I accidently took a sniff as my father got closer to me. That's when the overpowering scent hit m again with me realizing that it was coming from him. "Oh lord, it's coming from you. Did you lose a fight with a skunk?"

"Ha ha, Rio," Charlie said, grabbing his coat from the hook. He slung it over his body with the scent wafting off once more. I pulled myself away from him, warning him to keep his distance before I passed out. "It's my cologne. Is it really that strong? I barely used a little more than usual. Sue always said she liked the smell."

"Either she's just being polite or she can barely smell," I shouted as I entered the kitchen. "Wait, Sue." I stuck my head out from the doorway, staring at my father with great care. Why hadn't I noticed that he was so dressed up sooner? He normally wasn't home this early either. He was all dressed up in a casual, but classy manner which was so unlike his chill self. "You're going on a date?"

Charlie's face turned red a little as he tried to hide the smirk on his face. He popped the collar to his shirt a little, while fixing the sleeves to his jacket. "Daddy needs to get out too," said my father. "Don't wait up, Rio."

I could only laugh at how "cool" Charlie was pretending to be as he left me alone in the house. So it was finally official, my father was dating Sue Clearwater. Huh, not a bad pairing, but I can't help but feel a little awkward about it. Even though she was all sweet with me at the bonfire, I wasn't exactly sure if she really thought of me in a nice way or if it was just a ruse.

But I did have to give Charlie props for that one, he was finally putting himself out there again after seventeen years of being alone. Maybe I wouldn't really have to worry about him as much if I really decided to be a vampire.

My train of thought was derailed though when I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I quickly answered it when I saw that it was my mother and prepared myself for whatever she was about to say. My heart sank a little when she told me that she couldn't make it to my graduation. Apparently, Phil got injured during practice, fucking his thigh bone up in the process so he was totally dependent on Renée. I was disappointed that my mother couldn't come after hanging up the phone, but I was oddly relived though.

That meant I had one less parent to worry about. I had a feeling that this thing with the stranger was going to escalate, Victoria is still after me, and these newborns that are running around Seattle could prove to be troublesome. Renée was safer in Florida for now. It would mean that Edward and his family would have two less people to worry about now. They could just focus their efforts on keeping me and Charlie safe.

For tonight though, they'd only have to worry about me. Charlie would probably end up at La Push where the wolves would no doubt be watching. Plus, Leah and Seth had gone wolf so I know they'd be looking after their mother.

So that was my silver lining in this nightmare.

I had decided to unwind a little on the couch by watching TV. As soon as the screen came on, it was still on the news that Charlie had left it on. The reporters were talking about the situation in Seattle. There were more murders in the past week, the killer had outranked all the other homicides in New York City and Los Angeles. For a minute, the screen flashed to show images of the countless victims, none of which were similar in any way. They were all either male or female, there was no racial connection, and age wasn't an issue either.

It looked like Edward's theory that there were only one or two newborns running around was proven false. I doubt that one or even two vampires could do so much damage. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my chest that there was a lot more than they were willing to believe.

The doorbell rang and I nearly jumped out of my skin since the report was getting a lot more gruesome. I calmed down before answering it only to find that it was Edward standing on the front porch. He had a serious look on his face, which usually meant that I was either in trouble or about to be in trouble.

"What did I do now?" I asked. "Or what did Alice see that I'm about to do?"

"Nothing," Edward told me. "We just need to talk though. Things in Seattle are about to reach the boiling point. We're going to come up with a plan on what to do, I thought it would be fair if you were there to hear it all."

Well, this was certainly a nice change. I quickly agreed to go and turned the TV off and grabbed my coat before running out the door. I don't even think I locked the door since we ran out of there so fast. Edward sped down the road in his Volvo until we reached his home where all his family could be seen sitting around in the living room.

I followed Edward inside, ready to hear what was going to happen during the "team meeting" when Jasper carefully drew closer towards me. I tensed up only for a second. His serious expression worried me, I had seen such a look since the time he almost tried to eat me on my seventeenth birthday party. He remained cool though as he rolled his sleeves up, showing me the scars that were decorated on his arms.

Before I could question why he was doing this, I noticed that all of these scars looked exactly like the one that James gave me.

"What happened to you, Jasper?" I asked.

"I didn't have the same gentle upbringing as everyone else," Jasper said, simply. "I had to earn my stripes. If you're to understand what we're going to do, you have to know where I came from. You need to know my story."

Somehow, I felt afraid to know where Jasper came from, but I was anxious to know at the same time.

* * *

**Newborn:**

"I was born Jasper Whitlock around 1843. I don't remember my human family much that part of my past is all but a fog. Before I had turned, I faked my age in order to enlist in the Confederate Army and eventually rose in rank until I reached major. I was the youngest major in Texas with my fake age, but I was the youngest major in the entire army if we're talking about my true age at the time."

Jasper when on about how he was leading a convoy of people to safety before a coming battle. When he was making the return trip, he talked about meeting three beautiful women. They were all speaking in Spanish so he couldn't understand them at first, but once they spoke in English, they learned who he was and one of them said they saw potential.

"Their leader, her name was Maria," Jasper said, calmly. "She was so fiercely beautiful that it was frightening. She bit me that day, she turned me into one of them so that I could be used as a tool for war. You see, Rio, the southwest of the country had been at war for territory for centuries. It wasn't until a vampire named Benito forged the idea of using an army of newborn vampires to attack his enemies. This caused a countless surge of newborns to be made and the armies waged war against each other until the Volturi learned of this then crushed the newborns and tore their makers apart."

After he scared me with that bit, he kept talking about his time with Maria and her comrades: Lucy and Nettie. Maria made Jasper into the commander of her newborn army and he served her loyally for years. He even helped her destroy Lucy and Nettie when they attempted to betray Maria. With them gone, Maria used Jasper and the newborn army to take control of many territories, killing the old vampires that ruled.

His powers were what gave him the ability to control the newborns so well. Maria originally wanted Jasper just for his military expertise, she wasn't fully aware of the other ability that he was reborn with. Either way though Jasper used his manipulative abilities to keep the newborns in line so that he could perfect them into deadly warriors instead of out of control psychopaths.

"My duty wasn't just to train the newborns though," Jasper said. "I also had the responsibility of destroying them once they got too old. After the first year of life, the remarkable strength that a newborn possess with the human blood and vampire power fighting against each other begins to diminish. Maria found them to be useless to her after this so she had me destroy them all, except for one."

"His name was Peter," he continued. "He was exceptional too, so much so that Maria felt it necessary to keep him around a little longer. Peter was my right-hand man. He assisted me with the newborns, his main duty was to provide them with full-time care though. One day that all changed. I was executing the newborns that Maria wanted disposed of when he suddenly attacked me when I called out a girl's name, Charlotte. He had fallen in love with her and chose her to be his mate. I was stronger than Peter though, but in the end, I decided to let him leave with the newborn. I didn't know why at the time, but now I understand that I never wanted to kill him, I no longer believed in Maria's cause."

"I stayed though for a few more years. I remained Maria's servant until Peter returned one night. He wanted to help me to escape, to show me a life where we didn't have to worry about all of this madness up north. So, I left Maria and joined Peter and Charlotte. I stayed with the two of them for decades, but even then I felt incomplete. I couldn't bear to be around them any longer, so I bid them farewell one day and wandered around until I reached a diner in Philadelphia. And that's when I met a woman far more beautiful then Maria could ever be. She approached me suddenly then said the strangest thing."

That's when I heard Alice's voice for the first time since lunch. "You kept me waiting long enough," Alice said, breaking away from the rest of their family. She approached Jasper with a frown on her delicate face. Jasper made up for this by holding up her hand and kissing it. Alice began to smile as she turned around to look at me, while Jasper wrapped his arms around her waist. "And like a good southern boy, you bowed and apologized."

Jasper nodded his head as he apologized to her, using a strong southern accent that I hadn't heard before. I couldn't help but to laugh with the rest of them as a warm feeling surged into my being. "Then she took us here to Forks," he said, laughing. "Carlisle had finished having the house built so nobody in town knew the family yet."

"Emmett and I were away on a hunt when they arrived," said Edward.

"As soon as we got back though," Emmett continued, "Edward's stuff was in the garage."

"This was Alice's excuse," Rosalie said, "'His room had the best view'."

Alice only shrugged her shoulders, while we all shared a lengthy laugh. Despite starting off in a terrible situation, I was proud that Jasper was able to turn that all around. Sure, he almost took a bite out of me once, but nobody is perfect. He was trying to get better and it seemed that Alice was the one who saved him from becoming a monster like James and Victoria.

At least their story had a happy ending.

We had to return to the pressing matter at hand though. I went back to what Jasper said about Maria having an army of newborn vampires at her disposal. I originally asked if he thought it might be her trying to get revenge on him for leaving. Jasper quickly shot that idea down, saying that she had been killed by her rivals decades ago.

So that crossed out one big nasty from the list of possible killers. Then again, why would Maria go after me in the first place? As far as I knew, she knew nothing about us. She probably didn't even know where Jasper ran off to and replaced him the first chance that she got.

"Now, we need to focus on who is trying to create the army," Carlisle interrupted, "and clean up this mess before the Volturi catch wind of it."

"Finally!" Emmett practically cheered. "We get to fight something. I was dying of boredom just sitting around here. When do we leave for Seattle?"

Emmett was already flying out the door when Rosalie yanked him back into the room from the back of his shirt. The big guy stumbled back, but quickly caught his graceful self. Rosalie scoffed at him and the two shared a quick kiss to make up.

The cuteness of it all made me want to gag for a minute there.

Jasper was the one who reeled everything back in. Carlisle called him the expert in dealing with newborns and drawed in his expertise to come up with a plan. "We're going to have to train before going to Seattle," Jasper told us. "I say there's at least two dozen of them, if not a little more. Newborns are going to use their strength to their advantage and cripple us all. That's why we're going to need to fight quicker and strike twice as hard. You have to kill a newborn with a single blow because if they get their arms around you then its game over."

"So then fighting with speed is an absolute must," Esme said, finally speaking. "That's no surprise there. Speed has always been an advantage of ours."

"And it will have to continue to be for the fight," said Jasper. "We're going to need all the help we can get. Carlisle, I recommend that you call Tanya. Her coven will be effected too if the Volturi sets foot in the area."

Carlisle sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest. I could already tell that bad news was coming our way as he took a seat on the sofa. Esme joined his side, looking equally disappointed by what we didn't know.

I saw a flash in Edward's eyes with his body immediately tensing up. "They're refusing to help us," Edward hissed. "After everything we've done to help them."

That didn't sit well with everyone else in the room. Although I had never met Tanya or the rest of the Denali Coven, I heard that they were friendly enough like the Cullens and even vegetarians. I don't know why they would reject helping us when Carlisle gave us justification.

He straightened himself on the sofa, signaling Edward to restrain his mind reading. His hands were on his lap as he attempted to relax as he looked at the rest of us. "It appears that Irina had a stronger relationship with Laurent then we thought," said Carlisle. "They mated. Tanya is bound to honor Irina's grief. They will only help us if Irina can have her revenge on the wolves."

"No!" I said, firmly. "You can't let her do that! You can't punish them for protecting me from that bastard!"

"And that's what I told them," Carlisle said, smiling. "Tanya understands and so does everyone else with the exception of Irina. But since Irina is refusing, they are all respecting her and not parting in the fight."

"That hurts the plan," said Jasper, "but I suppose we'll just have to mange with the seven of us."

They all agreed without any hesitation as they all circled around Jasper to form a battle plan. I was left sitting on one of the sofas, alone as they talked so quickly that I could barely understand half of what was going on. I felt immensely guilty though. I couldn't help but feel like they were fighting my battles for me.

No doubt, my visitor had something to do with the newborn army. I was so certain of all that I wanted to beg Edward to change me now to fight. Having a newborn on their side would help them fight, but Jasper quickly shot me down. The bloodlust would leave me completely blind and I would be an uncontrollable monster that I'd only die quickly against the newborns. He made it clear that I wouldn't stand a chance if it came to that.

So I resumed sitting on the couch, thinking about how time was quickly turning against me.

Once more, I would be excluded from a fight. My elf powers still weren't strong enough to fully fight against the newborn army. I could last a bit against a "sane" vampire, but these newborns were absolutely frightening. What good could I do against one of them? I doubt that my little laser light or super screams or static shocks would do any good against them. They'd probably only laugh before ripping my throat out.

That was not a pretty nor a happy image. I instinctively flinched just from the mere thought of it as I continued to sit in seclusion. Eventually, they decided on a training schedule that would give them a chance to prepare before they went off to Seattle for the big showdown. The city would give the newborns the advantage since the newborns wouldn't worry about exposure like the others.

It would be a long, painful fight, but it would be a necessary one.

Anything to keep the Volturi away for a little while longer seemed like the right thing to do.

Edward left his family's side and held his hand out to me. I took it so that he could help me up to my feet, escorting me to his car so that he could take me home. When we stepped outside, the sun had been gone for hours by now. Charlie would still be gone for a little while longer since Edward could see that Charlie's thoughts were focused on the date.

"Would you be able to handle it if Sue became your step-mother?" asked Edward. "That would mean that those two, Leah and Seth, would be your step-siblings."

"How weird would that be?" I asked as he drove me home. "I'd finally have siblings. When I was younger, I always wished for that. But now, it doesn't feel so right. Granted, I do want Charlie to find someone to share his life with and Sue seems like a good match for him. I don't know how I would be able to handle having Leah and Seth in the family. I'd be related to werewolves, by marriage."

"They're wolves!" Edward said, suddenly. "Is everyone in La Push a damn werewolf now? I thought only males could be wolves?"

"Edward, haven't you learn by now, the normal rules no longer apply," I told him. "Ever since I stepped into the picture, all the rules have been changing. My very existence is like changing the natural order of the universe."

"You're a remarkable creature, Rio Swan," Edward said, shaking his head. "Now, I'm not sure how true your theory is. It could be pure cockiness or pure fact. I can't seem to disagree with you though, you seem to be changing a lot of the rules."

I smiled since we both came to an understanding that I was right. There was something so special about me that I could just bend the rules of the universe to how I saw fit. If only it were that simple. I was no God, and I would never want to be one.

I just needed to accept the fact that I was really different from everyone here. What I really wanted to know though was the reason I was so different because of the elf in me? Or was I such an outcast that I could never be part of either world?

What the hell did Jacob and Edward see in me?

* * *

**Declaration:**

Now the rest of the time was spent preparing for the newborn army. I had only three more days before graduation and that's when I'd have to decide about what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Freyr still wasn't communicating with me on the astral plane so either he was really busy or he was leaving this decision up to me without anymore interference. It sucked, especially since Jacob and Edward weren't making things any easier despite the newfound politeness they both had.

I was still being strung along and I knew things were about to reach the boiling point soon.

There was nothing but dread on my mind as I looked out the window, catching glimpses of Carlisle watching over me. The shifts were more unstable now that there was a big battle looming over the horizon. It was growing to be more difficult for them to keep themselves fed, train for the fight, and watch over me. The shifts were growing longer for them and they were being deprived of the blood that they needed to survive just to watch over me.

With a heavy sigh, I pressed my head against my pillow and tried to get some sleep. That wasn't about to happen anytime soon though. I was restless, anxious, fretful, and every other synonym in the damn thesaurus. Damn my mind, it always betrayed me whenever I'd try to get some sleep, especially lately. It wasn't so bad when I was trying to figure out who Edward was or when Jacob was being such a jerk when he first phased or even when I was on the run from James and Victoria. That somehow was a little more manageable, but all of this was just a disaster.

Ugh, why couldn't my life be easy?

There was a light knock on my window. I could see Edward through the corner of my eyes that I couldn't keep close. He easily pushed my window open, I didn't bother to keep it locked anymore. Hell, I bothered to keep anything locked. If someone of the supernatural variety was going to come and kill me, a lock wouldn't stop them at all. So I just said to hell with it as I felt Edward sit down at the foot of my bed.

"You should be sleeping," he said, softly.

"I should be doing a lot of things," I said into my pillow. "I don't know what to do though, about any of this. I feel so powerless, way more human than I already am."

"Maybe you should go see Jacob tomorrow," Edward recommended, sincerely. "You usually feel better afterwards, so long as he doesn't say or do anything stupid."

I smirked into my pillow, it did sound like a good idea. Suddenly, I felt a little more relaxed and I said goodnight to Edward. He said goodnight as well as he disappeared from my room, leaving me with a somewhat pleasant thought. I finally found myself able to go to sleep without any more difficulty.

When morning came though, I actually got up early. The seniors had already been let out from Forks High to make preparations for graduation. I only had to go to an information meeting about the do's and don'ts of the ceremony in the morning then I decided to follow Edward's advice. He dropped me off at my house so I could get the truck and go down to La Push, after I let an excited Jacob know I was coming down to see him.

The Beast didn't fail to bring me to La Push safely. I arrived at Jacob's house by noon, he was playing hooky from school apparently since he didn't have any finals that he should be taking. I decided to play nice with him considering just how tired he looked when I saw him standing on the front porch with only a pair of shorts on. There were dark circles around his eyes that didn't used to be there. I started to worry about him as I questioned him about it.

Jacob merely sighed as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He pulled me against his muscular chest, refusing to let me budge away from the hold he had on me. "Well, I've been taking extra shifts, a lot actually," he said, softly. "It's damn near a full-time job just making sure that Victoria doesn't come anywhere near La Push. I'm the only one in the pack who watches over you at night."

"But didn't you say that Sam agreed to help?" I asked.

"He agreed to find out if Victoria or your stranger appears on our lands," Jacob corrected, "he didn't agree to help watch over you. He doesn't trust the Cullens enough to send any of us to help him. He barely agreed to let me go since he already knew I'd find a loophole around his orders soon enough. It pays to be the grandson of Ephraim Black."

"What does your great-grandfather have to do with it?"

Jacob began to explain how the wolf blood was stronger in him once we made it to the couch. Sam only had one ancestor, and his previous ancestors were never "high" enough to be Alphas. The only reason Sam was Alpha now was because he was the first to phase. Jacob kept going on how the wolf genes were stronger in him, especially since he had the Ateara lineage thanks to his mother so that meant Jacob was Quil's cousin.

"So long story short, I should be Alpha and I can take control at anytime I want," Jacob finished. "I don't want to be Alpha though. It's way too much responsibility. Sam can have it if he wants it so bad."

"You shouldn't have to be alone on this though, Jake," I told him. "Just let the Cullens watch over me. I don't want you to push yourself into an early grave because you didn't get enough sleep."

He started to laugh as he leaned in to rest his massive head on my shoulder. The massive weight dragged me down a little, but I allowed Jacob to get away with this one too. "Rio, I'm not going to let the bloodsuckers be solely responsible for your safety," he said, firmly. "If something were to happen…just because I was too busy napping, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I have to do everything to protect your life, even if you don't want me to. Besides that's the price you have to pay for a lifetime of servitude."

I felt a needle going against my skin with the way that Jacob's words penetrated me. He remained silent and his breathing eventually slowed down until I heard a soft snore. Before I could feel anymore guilt, I saw that he had fallen asleep on me. I couldn't help but to laugh, softly though so that he could get the rest that he so deserved.

Using my telekinesis, I was able to move his head off my shoulder so that it would gently fall onto my lap. It would be easier to support his weight there. Jacob continued to sleep, using my legs as his pillow, it was cute so I decided to watch some TV.

The guilt was still present though even though Emeril was trying to distract me with his cooking. Martha did a worse job then he did at trying to distract me though and Oprah was just too loud for my taste. But back to my guilt, I just couldn't deal with it. Jacob shouldn't have to suffer so much just to take care of me, someone who was even considering pushing his feelings aside to be with another.

Even with the promise of the future we could have, I knew that deep down that Jacob deserved better than me.

Still though, I couldn't help but feel selfish with Jacob. I still wanted that "sort of" beautiful boy that I had found a second chance with. Yet, I also wanted to be with that first, true love. I was still struggling to find out what to do and who to be with. It didn't help that the clock was ticking and now only two more days remained until graduation.

Graduation, the end of everything and the beginning of another. Which side would a chose though? It seems so poetic that I would have to go through with this during graduation. Why not? I already had a million other things to worry about like transitioning from childhood to adulthood. The safety net would be gone, I was going to enter the real world one way or the other. I could face the world as a member of the undead and face new threats from the Volturi or I could chose to continue living and putting the world into greater danger.

Decisions, decisions…

I failed to notice what time it was, but it had gotten considerably darker since I got here. It was past five now, twilight was fast approaching. Jacob's internal alarm clock seemed to go off because he woke up in an instant. He was rubbing his nose, while yawning so loud that I thought the house would come down.

"How lame am I?" Jacob said, shaking his head. "How long was I sleeping for?"

"About five hours," I told him.

"Lame," Jacob said again. "It looks like I just blew your entire day."

"It wasn't so bad," I said, softly. "It was nice to be the one watching someone sleep for a change instead of being watched."

Jacob laughed for a moment as he rose up from the sofa. He did a lengthy stretch, raising his arms up and moving his back. Eventually there was a pop then Jacob returned to his energetic self. He told me that he would be back in a minute then he disappeared into his closet of a room to never be seen for a while.

His disappearance felt longer then the minute it really was.

Eventually, Jacob returned to the living room, now wearing clothes. He had changed out of his shorts and got dressed properly, too properly in fact. I was surprised to see him wearing a pair of nice, khaki pants and a brown, button-up shirt both of which fit his figure perfectly. A smile was on his face and I noticed that he nap hair into something fairly decent.

I was about to ask what he was doing when he raised his fingers to my lips.

"Don't speak, not yet," Jacob whispered. "I need to do the talking. I have to say this now before it's too late."

"Jake."

"Let me speak, please," Jacob begged.

He dropped down to the sofa and sat beside me, his hands now holding onto mine. He held onto them with great care just as Edward would whenever he was about to tell me something epic. I was nervous since I saw the look of longing in his eyes. They were the look of love, a man so desperate that he would be willing to do anything for the one he loved.

That look frightened me so much until Jacob finally began to speak.

"Ilario Swan, I need to make my declaration," Jacob said, softly. "I know that you love Edward, I know that you care about him a lot, but you love and care about me a lot too. So, Rio, I need to tell you this…I'm hopelessly in love with you. I know in my heart that we've imprinted, maybe not in the conventional way, but what we have is real and very special."

"You have a decision to make, but I want to give you something else to consider," he continued. He took one of my hands and held it up to his chest. I felt the rapid beating of his heart, despite how confident he looked, he was equally as scared as I was. "You would never have to change for me, Rio. You would never have to give up anything for me. The only thing I ask from you is to love me in return. I want to have the family that you saw in your vision, I want us to be together more than anything."

He finally released my hands though and I thought it was over. I was beginning to stand to try and process all of this when Jacob took my hand again. He looked as if he were about to stand up when he suddenly dropped to one knee and a ring that wasn't there before was in his hand. Suddenly, it all began to click and I knew exactly what he was going to do.

Jacob was proposing.

"This ring is the last thing I have of my mother," Jacob said, holding the golden band up. It was a simple ring, but it was a pretty ring. There was a small diamond at the heart, the band was only slightly thick, and it was still obviously made for a woman though. "My father gave this ring to my mother and asked her to marry him. She said yes. Before she died, she always promised me to give me her ring so I could give it to the one that I loved. Dad gave me her ring after she died, I've been holding onto it since I was seven, waiting for that someone special to come into my life. That person is you. So, Ilario Swan, will you do me the honor of marrying me and making me the happiest man on the world?"

I completely froze as I looked into Jacob's eyes and the ring. I forgot how to breathe and I knew I would need to take a breath soon, but I just couldn't find the strength to do so. With all the conflicted emotions I had going, Jacob just had to drop the ultimate bombshell on me. He had to propose to me with his mother's engagement ring. It was the sweetest gesture in the world and everything, but…I couldn't say yes.

"I have to go," I said as my voice cracked. I stole my hand back from Jacob and started walking away from him. I grabbed the sweater that I had discarded on the sofa as I slowly tried to make my escape to the door. "I need to leave now."

"Rio, please," Jacob said.

Tears wanted to come out of his eyes, but he wouldn't let them flow. He was doing everything he could to hold those tears back and I felt more of a monster for letting them come in the first place. This wasn't something I could do though. I couldn't marry him, not right now. There was just too much going on. It wouldn't be fair…it wouldn't be right. I couldn't marry him unless I was a hundred percent certain.

"I'm sorry, Jacob," I said, running out of the door.

I quickly ran to the Beast, started to engine, and got away from Jacob as quickly as possible.

From the rearview mirror though, I could see Jacob on the porch just as he fell to his knees.

* * *

**Wager:**

There was no point in asking how I managed to make it home without driving off the road in the process. I was blinded by tears that I finally noticed when I looked at myself in the mirror. I tried to get rid of my tears, but my face was all puffy and red so that would be impossible. Charlie's cruiser was parked in the driveway which meant he was home and hiding myself would be all the more difficult.

So I decided to face at least one of my problems head on. At least that was one thing I could do right. I slammed the truck door shut and went inside the house, seeing Charlie walking into the kitchen in the process. I tried to take advantage of his back being turned to run up the stairs, but he had turned around to say hi.

When he saw my face though I thought he was going to pop a blood vessel. He dropped his plate as he rushed over towards me as he leaped over the broken shards. "Rio, what happened?" he asked. The concerned father voice meant that I wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. I would be stuck with Charlie until I cracked so I might as well get it out now.

"I went over to Jacob's house today," I said, holding back the tears, "he proposed to me."

"What!" Charlie said, loudly. His hands were suddenly holding onto my arms as he guided me over to the couch. "Jacob…proposed? He wants to marry you? What did you say?"

"Nothing," I said, softly. "I ran away. I just…I can't marry him, dad." I started crying some more, covering my mouth to hold back the urge to vomit. I tried to hide my head between my legs, but Charlie kept urging me to speak to him. "I can't marry Jacob. I can't marry Edward either. I can't do it. Their damn proposals are only making this harder on me."

"Edward proposed to you too?" Charlie asked.

"Last spring, after he came back, I told him I needed to think about it," I told him. "Now, Jacob proposed to me too, he even used his mom's ring. I have no clue what I'm supposed to do, dad. I'm just so scared. In the back of my head, I'm just terrified of ending up like you and mom if I do ever get married."

Charlie was completely silent after that. I was still crying, but I could see the frown lines on his face as my body panicked. He draped his arm over my shoulder and held onto my as I continued to cry. "Ilario, don't be afraid to love someone," he said, calmly. This was the calmest I ever heard him talk. That wasn't right considering just how badly I was freaking out. "Edward and Jacob are willing to go the distance for you, just like I was with your mother. You shouldn't be afraid to make the commitment to someone."

"Then what's your excuse?" I asked. "You barely started going out now. After seventeen years of being divorced."

"I never went out because part of me was still in love with your mother," Charlie said. "I still love your mom, I never stopped. But…my feelings for her have finally gone done enough where I can offer myself fully to someone else. I never thought it would happen to me again, I envied your mom for finding Phil. Thanks to Sue though, I finally learned that its possible for me to love another. I'm not afraid any more. Things may or may not work with me and Sue, but I'm going to plunge into the waters. You should take the plunge too. Don't be afraid of what might happen. Don't let your fears control you. Besides, there's no way in Hell that those boys are going to give up on you."

What he said was true. I listened to the words of my father, feeling a deeper connection to him than I ever felt before in my life. This was like a new side to Charlie Swan that I never knew existed. He had true feelings too.

And it seemed he was telling the truth about his feelings for Renée, their wedding picture was finally off the mantel.

"Then what am I supposed to do, dad?" I asked. "I still have to choose one of them."

"Or neither one," Charlie said. "You need to make the decision on your own. I can't tell you who to be with."

That's when the most random thought popped into my head. If Charlie couldn't tell me who to choose and I couldn't make the decision on my own then I had to come up with something else. "Do you have a quarter?" I suddenly heard myself asking.

Charlie gave me a confused look as he eyed the stack of change on the coffee table. I quickly reached out to the pile until I found a quarter buried in it all. He put his hand on top of mine, stopping me like he knew what I was thinking. "You can't choose between those boys with a coin toss!" Charlie said, steadfastly. "Do you have any idea how wrong that is?"

"Fate will decide for me," I said through tears. "Heads for Edward and tails for Jacob."

"Ilario Miguel Swan," Charlie said, invoking my full name, "you cannot do this. You cannot flip a coin. You have to make this decision the proper way. Could you live with yourself if you just flipped a coin to make this choice? Do you think Edward and Jacob would appreciate it if you just flipped a coin to choose between them? Do you really think that's fair to them? They both love you, they deserve better than that."

The guilt trip worked, I dropped the quarter back in the pile of change. I withdrew back into the sofa and started to curl myself up into a ball. I had stopped crying, but that was only the first stage in my battle with this made hysteria. I still felt so torn, unable…unfit to make the choice.

Why did I have to choose? Why can't someone just decide for me? I just can't do it; I don't know how to choose between Edward and Jacob when they both mean so much to me. They both make me so happy and I knew that the future would be good if I chose either one, but it still didn't make all of this any easier.

Charlie abandoned me as all these thoughts surged through my being. He was right though, a coin toss wouldn't be fair to either one of them. I couldn't do that to them, not after they had been so wonderful to me. I had to give them the honor and respect of properly choosing between them, not leaving it all up to a game of chance.

Even though Pascal would've approved, this didn't feel right to me at all.

I sat on the sofa, while I heard Charlie cleaning up in the kitchen. I looked up to the mantel and saw the other pictures that were there. My most recent school picture was up there with my senior picture as well. There was another one there back when I was a baby and my parents were still together. A few other ones were there of all the vacations I had with Charlie. I could remember every one of them and I found myself smiling as I thought about it.

Looking all of those pictures made me feel happy like whenever he was around me. It was like a support blanket. He was my support blanket that kept me level, that made me feel special, who made me feel loved.

Yes, he made me feel loved more so then the other one could. It seemed so clear to me now that I looked around the home of my father. I jumped up to my feet and wiped away all of my tears before taking the keys, running out of the door. Charlie tried to call after me, but I ignored him as I open the truck.

"There's something I have to do," I told Charlie before starting the engine. "I'll still be around…I might not come home tonight though."

"You're not running away again, are you?" Charlie asked as he reached the window.

"I'm not running away," I said, smiling. "I'm running towards him. I'll be back soon, dad."

Charlie seemed to find what I said to be a happy thought. He might know who I decided to be with, but he knew I made a decision. I tried hard not to think about the decision I made too much, I didn't want to risk Alice finding out about it. Alice wouldn't rat me out though, this was too big for her to just blurt out.

The Beast took me to the edge of town to the Cullen home. I didn't cut the engine off though as I got out. I stood on the rocky road until Edward finally emerged from the home. He had to hear the decision I made. He had the right to know from me that I decided what I was going to do for the rest of my life.

Edward needed to know that it wasn't him.

"You look different," Edward said as he drew close. "Emmett said he heard you talking with Charlie. So…Jacob proposed to you too and you ran away?"

"I couldn't say yes, I had other issues to deal with," I told Edward. "But…I battled my demons and now I know what I wanted. Edward, I've decided who I want to be with it. And its—"

Edward just raised his hand up and pressed it against my lips before I could say it. He simply shook his head, a small smile growing on his face. "I have a feeling I know what you're about to say," he said, softly. "Tell Jacob that I said congratulations." He removed his hands from my lips; I was shocked to know that he knew what I decided to do.

For a minute, I thought he was able to read my mind now, but I remembered that Edward was just that good at reading people. The way he took it so calmly though bothered me. I was expecting him to yell or look depressed or something. But he was taking this so well, so perfectly well that I felt wrong for my decision, even though I knew it was what I wanted. I wanted to be with Jacob Black.

"I don't want to lose you though, Edward," I whispered. "I still love you. I still need you in my life."

"Then I won't go anywhere," he whispered. "I'll still be a part of your life, I just have to adjust that I'm not the one who you want to be with, in the end."

"Edward, I'm sorry," I said, tears running down my cheeks.

But Edward's angelic voice sang through all of that. He leaned in towards me and kissed me on the lips. This was a goodbye kiss, although, not as bittersweet as the one that he left with. "There is no need to apologize," he sang to my ear. "Your happiness is what matters most to me. I was hoping you'd choose to be with Jacob though, honestly. I didn't want to drag you down into my life, I didn't want to be the one to destroy your soul."

"You still have your soul," I told him.

"Not now, Rio," Edward said. "Go to Jacob now, go make him the happiest man in the world. Goodnight, Rio."

"Goodnight, Edward," I whispered before returning to my truck.

He waved at me as I pulled out, making the guilt I had go away a little. He took the news so well that it felt a little scary. But I was happy that there could still be something between us. We could still be friends, we could still be part of each other's lives for however long that would last.

At least that was something.

I prayed though that Edward would find someone else though to make him feel complete again. I knew by choosing Jacob that I was leaving Edward scarred and alone. How would he survive without saving the miserable human on a daily basis? With any luck, he'll find himself a nice, vegetarian vampire boy to fall in love with next.

Edward, I wish you the best with your eternal life. I want you to find someone new, I want you to be able to open your heart to someone else like Charlie finally achieved. I don't want you to go back to being a lonely creature, never knowing what it is like to experience love. That's what I should've told Edward before I left. Somehow though, I think he knew it. Even though he can't read my mind, he sometimes knows exactly what I'm thinking.

The world was getting a little darker as I got closer to La Push. But the moon was out and everything was pleasantly calm. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, nature seemed to be singing almost. As I got closer towards town, I felt my heart beating like a hammer. I was going to take that plunge that Charlie told me not to be afraid to take.

If only Taylor Swift wasn't playing on the radio. Her annoying songs about how in love she is or how her ex-boyfriend sucked just seemed to get on my last nerve. I would've changed the station in the radio that Edward replaced if I hadn't started to listen to the words. This song was different than the others. This one was an apology to someone she loved dearly.

I heard the words and suddenly I thought about Jacob, I thought about how I left him heartbroken today.

I wasted no time in getting to Jacob's house. I shut the engine off and ran towards the front door, knocking on it until Billy answered. He told me that Jacob had already gone for patrol about ten minutes ago. I either had the option of waiting until after midnight or trying to go after him on my own. Billy didn't tell me that second option, but I needed to see Jacob right now.

Apparently, Billy didn't know what happened between me and his son. He treated me as he would any other day so I had to assume that Jacob hadn't told a soul about this yet. I was afraid to hear if the pack would hear about this from his thoughts.

So I found myself running to the woods, Billy tried to stop me but failed. I ran as fast I could, screaming Jacob's name into the trees. There was a breeze that started to kick in. I could feel that the wind was trying to push me in his direction. So I followed the directions that the wind was giving me despite the fact I was terrible at running.

However, I managed to defy my clumsy nature. I didn't trip a single time, I was on a mission of love, no matter how dorky that sounded. I ran deep into the woods, no caring that I was covered in sweat, and certainly not caring how horrible I probably looked right now. All my thoughts were focused on one thing, Jacob.

The winds and the woods showed me where to go. After what felt like hours of running, I found myself in the middle of an opening where eight wolves stood around in a circle. My presence there didn't go unnoticed as they all had their eyes set on me. I was panting for air as a russet, brown wolf approached me with his massive form despite a bark from the large, black wolf.

"It's your turn to listen," I told the wolf.

I closed my eyes as I gathered up all the courage I had. There was no point holding back now, I had to tell Jacob everything I felt now. And the easiest way for me to articulate all that was with a song. Thank you, Taylor Swift. I hate your music, but this one song sums up everything that I feel and could make all the difference.

So, I started to sign.

"I'm so glad you made time to see me. How's life? Tell me how's your family. I haven't seen them in a while. You've been good, busier than ever. We small talk, work and the weather. Your guard is up and I know why because the last time you saw me is still burned in the back of your mind. You gave me roses and I left them there to die."

"So this is me swallowing my pride standing in front of you saying, 'I'm sorry for that night'.And I go back to December all the time. It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you, wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine. I'd go back to December, turn around and make it all right. I go back to December all the time."

"These days I haven't been sleeping staying up playing back myself leavin'. When your birthday passed and I didn't call. And I think about summer, all the beautiful times, I watched you laughing from the passenger side. Realized that I loved you in the fall."

"And then the cold came, the dark days when fear crept into my mind. You gave me all your love and all I gave you was 'Goodbye'."

"So this is me swallowing my pride standing in front of you saying, 'I'm sorry for that night'. And I go back to December all the time. It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you, wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine. I'd go back to December, turn around and make it all right. I go back to December all the time."

"I miss your tanned skin, your sweet smile, so good to me, so right. And how you held me in your arms that September night, the first time you ever saw me cry."

"Maybe this is wishful thinking, probably mindless dreaming, but if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right. I'd go back in time and change it but I can't. So if the chain is on your door I understand."

"But this is me swallowing my pride standing in front of you saying, 'I'm sorry for that night'. And I go back to December..."

"It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you, wishing I'd realize what I had when you were mine. I'd go back to December, turn around and make it all right. I'd go back to December, turn around and change my own mind.""I go back to December all the time, all the time."

My plea was over and I found myself panting once more as the emotion was made known. All the wolves heard me, they all probably thought I was completely crazy too. I didn't care though. I didn't care if I looked horrible from all of the crying, or if snot was running down my face, or anything else for that matter. All I cared was about Jacob, he was all that mattered right now.

The wolf turned back to the others and I saw Wolf-Sam nod his head. He howled briefly and they all began to disappear into the woods, giving us some time alone. Wolf-Jacob stayed with me, slowly creeping towards m as he rubbed his wet nose against my hand. I found myself petting his head for a moment before it happened.

I never saw a wolf shift into a human. It took only a second to happen, but I could see the fur receding into his skin as he straightened himself up until he was Jacob again. Although he was completely nude, but I could live with that as I kept my head up so I could look at his face.

"Your singing is as beautiful as ever," Jacob whispered. "What does it mean though? Are you just apologizing for running away from me or are you saying goodbye period?" I could heard the heartbreak in the way he spoke. He was really hurt by what I did today and I didn't blame him for it. He had every right to be upset, his watery eyes were proof enough of that.

So I did what else I could to make it up to him. I reached for his warm hands and held onto them, returning warmth to my own freezing body. "If…if you want me then there are some things you have to know," I told him. "I'm my own person that means you can't force me to do anything. Edward is going to be a part of my life. You can't keep him or the other Cullens away from me, they're like family to me. You can't ban me from associating with anyone. You have to give me the space I need. I love you to death, Jacob, but I need you to be as reasonable as you possibly can, especially for the sake of our children. They might end up bringing home a gypsy, or a witch, a vampire, a werewolf, or even an angel! I don't know, whatever is out there. I want you to be reasonable with them and me too. It's the only way that we'll ever work."

That's when the expression on Jacob's face slowly began to change. I could tell he had the urge to smile and I managed to keep my tearful emotions in check so that he didn't know what was up. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Jacob asked, ambiguously. "I don't care, Rio. I don't care about any of that. I will do whatever it takes. I will do whatever if you want from me. I will move the sun if that's what you want me to do. I'll do anything for you. Just tell me, do you want to marry me?"

"Yes, Jacob Black," I said, now smiling. "I want to marry you, I want to spend my life with you."

Everything changed with that that sentence. Jacob's emotions changed completely as his face exploded with joy. He suddenly had his arms around me and he lifted me up in the air, spinning us both around as he gave out a cheerful cry. I couldn't help but to feel equally happy too as I had my arms wrapped around his neck, holding onto him with all my strength.

Jacob brought me back down to Earth though. We stared at each other for a moment. His face looked heavenly in the moonlight that contrasted against his dark skin. He was so happy, it was just so nice to see Jacob really smile again. It was just nice to feel better again. Even though I said no to Edward, it was what was right for me. I had no more guilt, I felt no more heartache. I only felt happiness and joy and everything that was good in the world.

I leaned up to kiss Jacob as he held me in his arms to kiss me back. We stayed like that for ages as the moonlight illuminated the clearing like a spotlight. It was only us though, nobody else was around, and we had this spot all to ourselves. This spot was no meadow, but it was equally as beautiful and relaxing. It was the perfect spot to start something new.

I continued to kiss Jacob, while we worked on undressing me until I was as nude as he was. My clothes were dropped off to the side and we found ourselves lying on the grass beneath us. Our bodies pressed against each other, ignoring the cold air around us and even the gentle breeze that caressed against our skin. All I felt was Jacob's touches, his fingertips running across my skin felt like a thousand kisses that made every bit of me tingle.

Our kisses grew longer and deeper until it felt like we were one. I held onto Jacob as if my life depended on it. In a way, it did. Jacob would be my husband at some point, he would have to protect me like a good husband would. Just like I would do everything I could to protect him.

Soon my legs were around his waist and I suddenly felt him easing his way inside of me. There was no pain, I only knew pleasure as I felt at peace with Jacob now. My skin felt only the pleasure and had numbed any pain I would've felt under normal circumstances, like our first time in the Rabbit. Jacob was just as incredible as I remembered in the backseat of the Rabbit.

It was just perfect, I felt complete now that I had officially chose to be with Jacob.

"I love you, Rio," Jacob groaned as he dug deeper inside of me.

"Ah, Jacob," I cried as I clung onto him, "I love you too."

We clasped onto each other, neither one of us wanting to give up hold on the other. I never wanted to let Jacob go, never again would I do such a thing. Jacob seemed to feel the same way as he wrapped his arms underneath my back. He pushed me up so that we were as close as we could possibly be until, finally, we both came with blissful moans. I kissed Jacob once more as the adrenaline began to diminish and the blissful climax still tingled up my spine.

Total serenity, that's what I felt as I fell into a deep sleep with Jacob's heart pounding against my own chest.


	14. Eclipse IV

Author's Note: Warning, minor lemon in this chapter. Haha. Anyways, it turns out that Eclipse will only be six chapters, I did the math wrong. Lol. So Breaking Dawn will either be 6 or 7 chapters, depending how I want to do it. Also, Angel Force is up so you should give that a read too! You'll love it. Hm...what else...I think that's it. The song in this chapter is Tik Tok by Ke$ha! Read and review.

**Epoch:**

Perfection, I felt nothing but perfect as I finally woke up from the deep sleep. At first, I expected to be in my room and realize that what happened was nothing more than a dream. That didn't happen though as I soon discovered myself to be in Jacob's closet of a room. I was on his bed, wearing one of his shirts with nothing else.

My brain thought that what happened last night didn't happen. I tried to rationalize that I had just passed out or something so Jacob let me sleep in his room. But when I tried to move from the bed, I felt the slight discomfort that came from sex with another man. So last night really did happen. I confessed that I loved Jacob and I said yes to his proposal. It was real; none of it was a dream.

It was with a heavy sigh that I dropped myself back on Jacob's flatten pillow as I wondered what my…fiancé was doing now.

Speak of the devil; there was a light knock on the door as Jacob made his way into his own bedroom. I was still half-asleep, but I was conscious enough to see him carrying a plate of food and a glass of orange juice. That was enough to finish waking me up. I smiled as I straightened myself up, afraid to look at just how much of a hot mess I probably looked.

The smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the gap. My stomach started to rumble with hunger since I hadn't ate since…well, lunch of yesterday. Jacob barely sat on the bed, wearing only his boxers of course, to offer me the food when I attacked. I grabbed the plate from his hand, didn't bother to use the fork, and just stuffed myself without any mercy to the food.

"Easy Rio," Jacob said, taking the plate from me. I tried to snatch the plate back, but he just pushed the orange juice into my hand. "Slow down. I wouldn't want my future husband to choke to death before our wedding."

"Sorry," I said before taking a sip. The food went down a lot smoother now that I had something liquidy to cool it down. The food was still warm which was great since I was starving to death. At least I had my own personal heater sitting beside me. I curled up against Jacob's arm and he graciously fed me breakfast. "You know, if this is how you plan on waking me up every morning, I could defiantly get used to this."

Jacob smirked as he broke my bacon in half. He gave me one piece then ate the other for himself. "Well, I could wake you up every morning with breakfast in bed," he said, softly. "Remember, I'm your slave. I can do whatever my master commands of me."

"I think my being your slave before cancels out your servitude offer," I said, finishing the rest of my drink. "I think we're both freemen now, well, except in the case of holy matrimony. Remind me how we're going to pull that one off, again? As far as I know, Washington doesn't support gay marriage."

"Civil unions are legal," said Jacob. "Or we could just run off to another state to get hitched. Maybe we could go to Vegas!"

"Vegas isn't' as much fun unless you're twenty-one," I told him. "That's a few more years away."

"Oh well," said Jacob. "No rush." He took the cup and my empty plate, running out of his room for a moment. I waited, slightly anxious, for him to return to me. He wasted no time in coming back and jumped back onto his tiny mattress. "I'm just happy that we'll have something, someday."

"You're too cute, pup," I said, holding back a light laugh.

"I'll show you a pup," Jacob laughed as he pinned me down on his bed.

Soon our lips met and all the sensations I felt from last night returned. I felt perfect, this is what truly felt right in my heart. Despite all the happy feelings and other ambiance I felt with Edward, it was nothing compared to what I felt with Jacob right now. His hands cupped my face as he kissed me with such passion that I never felt possible.

My legs wrapped around his waist without any thought on my part. I had my arms snaking up his back, nails raking against the broad, muscular back. He withheld enough of his weight not to crush me, but I could still feel his dominating presence over me. It wasn't controlling though, his dominating aura felt more like protection, a Jacob Safety Blanket.

The passionate bubble burst though when my phone vibrated like crazy on Jacob's nightstand. I groaned with displeasure from that one as I grabbed onto it and saw the reminder. "Shit!" I whispered, smacking myself in the face. "I completely forgot that today is graduation."

"How could you forget your own graduation?" asked Jacob.

"How could you forget your fiancé's graduation?" I asked Jacob. "You're not off to a good start, boyfriend."

Jacob bit down on his lip as he pulled himself away from me. I was able to breathe properly as I quickly sent Charlie a text message that I would be home soon. "Well, I didn't want to say anything really because I wasn't sure if I was even invited," he said, softly. "So, am I allowed to go to your graduation?"

I threw my phone onto his pillow as I just shook my head at Jacob's innocence. Despite being as "old" as he claimed with his fake math, he just had so much youthfulness to him that couldn't' be denied. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I sat on his barely clothed lap. My naked, lower-half didn't help to make things any easier.

"Of course, you're invited," I told him. "I'd be offended if you didn't come to my graduation. You have to bring a gift though. You can't show up empty handed."

"How about your ring then?" Jacob said. I tried to think about what he meant when he suddenly held the engagement ring up to me. The ring he tried to give me yesterday when I ran off, the ring that belonged to his mother. He took my hand and slid it onto my ring finger. The ring went in all the way without any struggle, which was enough to light Jacob's face up. "It's a perfect fit. This must truly be fate."

"Maybe it is," I said, kissing him. "The ceremony starts at two. Don't you dare be late!"

I shot the most threatening glare I could at Jacob, but even I wasn't dumb enough to think it would work. He just laughed at me before returning my kiss as he carried me out of his room. I landed on my feet as he grabbed my discarded clothes from the closet in his room.

"Would never dream of it," he told me. He kissed my cheek and left me alone so I could get dressed in the bathroom.

I avoided the mirror as I quickly put my old clothes on. I decided to leave my old shirt behind. Jacob's was a lot more comfortable, plus it would probably freak Charlie more out then the fact I had a ring on my finger. Well, one could wish. Hopefully, the shirt would be enough to just distract Charlie from the ring on my finger.

When I got out of the bathroom, Jacob was waiting for me already with a pair of sweatpants on. He kissed me again, his warm lips only touched my lips, but I could feel the warmth spread throughout my being. I kissed back and reminded him that the ceremony was two. He nodded his head before handing over the keys to my truck. It was hard to leave, but I somehow managed to rip myself away from Jacob long enough to drive back home.

The ride back to Forks didn't take me that long. I managed to make it home in one piece and in record time, for me at least. So now I just needed to worry about was getting showered and dressed and all pretty for graduation. I checked the time as I jumped out of the truck, seeing that it was already noon. I needed to get my butt moving because I know Charlie would want an explanation, which would cut some of my pretty up time.

I barged into my house and came to a stop as I saw people in my living room. I hadn't even realized there was another car parked in the driveway until I saw the Clearwaters all in my living room. Charlie had just come down the stairs, dressed up in his suit when he finally gave out a sigh of relief.

"What took you so long?" said Charlie. "You need to get dressed. I have to get you to your school in about an hour."

"Relax, pops, I'm a boy," I told him. "It takes me five minutes to get ready."

"You're gay," said Charlie, "it takes another thirty to make sure you're perfect."

"You know me so well," I said, sarcastically. Then I turned to our guests, waving at them with a cheery smile. "Hi Sue, Leah, Seth."

Sue politely said hi back, Leah just nodded her head, while Seth practically flew off the couch and attacked. He started going on about how he could wait until he graduated and that I should totally be excited about it and I was so lucky to be done with high school. All this time, I noticed that he was dressed rather sharply along with the rest of his family. Seth kept it simple with a shirt, tie, and dress pants. Leah and Sue went a little more formal with Forks appropriate dresses that made both women look remarkably beautiful.

Seth finally tugged on my shirt and looked at it for a second. "Why are you wearing Jake's shirt?" he asked, curiously. I was about to explain that I spent the night when he looked down to my hand. I nearly died when he lifted up my hand up, showing off the ring that Jacob had given me. "What's with the ring? Are you getting married?"

"Married?" Charlie said, grabbing my hand. "That's…that's Sarah's ring."

Leah and Sue both got up from the sofa, walking over towards me. Sue looked like she was about to faint when she saw the ring on my finger. There were tears there, which worried me for a moment. Leah though, she just had something bitter brewing inside of her. I knew it had nothing to do with Jacob, personally, just the insult of someone else being happy while she was miserable.

"Yeah," I said to Charlie, taking my hand back. "I said yes to Jacob. I need to get ready though, we can talk more after graduation."

Quickly, I ran up the stairs before Charlie might have a fit with me. Yesterday, he seemed so chill about this marriage thing, but I guess he didn't expect me to really say yes to it. Then again, I didn't really expect me to go along with it either. That just goes to show you that people will always surprise you.

So I hurried as fast as I could to get showered. I did everything I could while waiting for my hair to dry. That was taking a little longer than usual so I ran into my room to change. I fished for all the clothes I wanted to wear, but I was pissed because I remembered that my stranger stole the shirt I was going to wear. I mumbled a bitter damnit when I heard a knock at my window.

"Special delivery," I heard Alice say. I spun around to see Alice in my room with a bag in her hands. She handed it over to me and I suddenly began to feel guilty about Edward. If I were her, I'd probably put a bomb in that bag. After all, I did dump her brother.

"What's this?" I asked Alice.

"A graduation present," she said, smiling. "It's the shirt to replace the one that was stolen. Now you have something appropriate to wear for graduation."

"Thanks," I whispered as I took the shirt out. "You really didn't have to though. Especially since Edward and I aren't together anymore."

"Hey, none of that." Alice said, walking up to me. She placed her hand on my arms, holding me with a great deal of care. "Even if it is over between you two, we still see you as part of our family. After everything we've gone through these past three years, you're already part of the family, Rio, with or without Edward. Just know that the mutt better make you happy otherwise I will personally kick his ass! I don't care if he falls into my blind spots and we have a butt load of newborns to worry about, I'll still get him. Cute ring, by the way. It goes well with you."

I smirked as Alice finally released me from her hold. The cold chill was left behind from where she touched me. I started to put the shirt on, thanking her once more when suddenly I had a thought. The mentioning of her blind spots, the newborns, and remembering my stranger brought up something I hadn't considered before.

Why hadn't this dawn on any of us before? It made no sense! It was such a perfectly, logical reason that someone should've came up with it sooner.

"Alice," I said, calmly, "I think I know what's going on."

"About what?" she said, confused.

I was buttoning up my shirt when I told her my theory. "It's all connected," I told her. "The newborns, my stranger, and your blind spots. Somebody who knows about you is exploiting your limitations. And that someone I'm willing to bet is connected to the stranger and the newborns. I wouldn't be surprised if they're all working together in some shape or form. The Volturi could be behind this or this is Victoria's revenge plot."

"Damnit," Alice hissed. "Rio, you are brilliant. You're onto something here. Why couldn't this have dawned on me sooner? It would've saved us so much trouble." She nodded her head before turning back to my window. Suddenly, I wondered why Leah and Seth hadn't attacked. A vampire was in the house, forget it, too much to think about. "I'll go see what I can find out, Rio. See you at graduation, and don't forget to show up at the party."

Alice disappeared from my bedroom, reminding me of the dreadful party I would have to attend tonight.

I sighed, my revelation died out as I finished getting ready for graduation.

We all left together in Charlie's cruiser, which we fit in without any trouble. The ride did start out as one of awkward silence, but leave it to Seth to break the ice. Somehow, I was amazed by just how similar the younger boy was to Jacob. If I didn't know any better, I would say that they were brothers.

"I've always wanted to ride the back of a police car," Seth suddenly announced.

"Oh God," Leah mumbled.

"Seth," his mother scolded him.

"It's alright, Sue," said Charlie. "I'm sure Seth didn't mean he wanted to do something illegal. He's just a curious one, right Seth? You just want to see things from another perspective."

"Right, Charlie!" Seth said, cheerfully. "Now that I'm back here, it's not that fun. I feel a little cluster phobic. I'd rather be in the backseat of a regular car."

We all laughed at the one, well, everyone except for Leah. She tried her best to contain the fact that even she was amused by her brother's naïve innocence. I was too busy to focus anymore thought on her though. Seth was talking to me about how cool it was that I was marrying Jacob. He said it would be better than to see Jacob being a bum and going on about how much it hurt to not being able to talk to me.

"Let's not go there, please," I told Seth. "You're trying to open up Pandora's Box after we finally closed it."

"Sorry," Seth said, now silencing himself.

Charlie parked the cruiser in the parking lot of the high school with the fifty million other cars. I got out of the car with my cap and gown and all the other things I needed for graduation. I said goodbye to everyone as I joined my fellow seniors to finish getting prepared for our big day. The end of an era, I heard one of the parents say.

There was plenty of truth with that one. I could already feel an era closing behind me, one beyond that of high school. I wouldn't have to struggle with my feelings any longer. I was free from all that suffering, I could be with the one I truly loved. Still, there would always be a part of me that would want Edward, who would love him to death.

That was fine, I could live with that.

Even though a part of me may love Edward, Jacob was my true love and that would never change.

I made it into the waiting area where all the seniors were getting fixed up. I slipped into my cap and gown then joined the sea of crimson around me. The counselors told us that they would split us up in alphabetical order in the next five minutes. I was already moving towards my crowd when I felt a cool presence beside me.

Edward appeared beside me, a soft smile present on his face. Never will he cease to amaze me with the beauty he hold inside of him. He lowered his hand to touch mine, his cool fingers grazed across the ring on my finger. "This is a beautiful ring," he said, softly. "Jacob better keep you happy or I'll tare him to shreds."

"Behave," I reminded Edward. "This is a little strange, don't you think?"

"What is normal about either one of us?" he asked.

"Good point," I said, laughing. "There's something else I need to tell you, not about Jacob or me. It has to do what's going on. I told Alice, but I think you should know too."

So I quickly explained to him the revelation I came to in my bedroom earlier. I tried my best to re-connect the dots with him so that he could see what I was thinking. The way his face responded to my words left me a little worried, but he maintained all control and focused on the words that escaped me. He listened to everything I said without interference.

"What do you think?" I asked him. "Alice thinks I'm onto something, but she doesn't know what."

"You never cease to amaze me, Rio," Edward said, smiling. "You've come to a conclusion that not even we could come up with. This opens up a new possibility, one that actually seems to make so much sense. I'll find out what's happening though later. Today, I want you to focus on your graduation. Just worry about getting your diploma and making Charlie proud."

He held his hand up to gently graze against my cheek for a moment. He then took off before the counselors could hassle him for not being in line. I stood completely still for a moment. Even though I had officially made my choice, this still wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. There were still a lot of residual feelings that won't be going away anytime soon.

I just prayed that he'd find someone else.

I went over to my end of the alphabet to be reunited with Jessica. She was just a mess. How she managed not to smear her eye makeup was a mystery to me. She just kept going on and on about how I had just moved here and now we were graduating together. She hugged me so tight, begging me to remember to keep in touch with her and everyone else. I made the promise, one I knew that I could keep now that I wouldn't have to worry myself with becoming part of the undead community.

The music began to play though and soon enough the senior made its way to the gym.

The gym was all dolled up for the ceremony. We sat down at our appropriate seats with the flashing of cameras going off every couple of seconds. Jessica nudged me a couple of times during the more boring moments. I tried not to laugh too loud since I didn't want to get a vicious glare from the staff.

And then came the part we were all waiting for, the passing of the diplomas. Everyone got up when their row was next and almost hurried to the stage where the principal and his assistant were rushing through the two hundred students. I saw Alice and Edward get there's first, both of them looked remarkable as they got theirs. Mike was a total goof when he got his. After a while, it was Jessica's and mine time to shine. She got hers first, but I soon followed.

I heard his voice from the audience. I turned briefly to the side to see Jacob standing and cheering for me as Billy sat beside him, while Charlie stood beside him with a prideful look on his face. I blushed for a moment before getting my diploma then made my way off the stage, hugging Jessica before returning to our seats. Not long after that, Angela and Ben got their diplomas and graduation soon finished after that. We threw our caps in the air once the ceremony was over, I managed to catch mine just as it returned to the earth.

Everyone broke apart to find their families, I did the same.

Charlie was waiting over in the back with everyone else he had invited. I hugged my father for a moment before Jacob threw his arms around me and lifted me up. I yelled at him to put me down, which he finally did. Sue and Billy congratulated me as well. Leah barely mumbled her response, while Seth tried to get me with a hug almost as big as Jacob's.

Jacob and Billy left though, taking Seth with them. We would drop Sue and Leah off at the house before taking off to our father-son dinner. I said goodbye to all my friends, for now, and reminded them about the party that was going on later tonight.

After all of that was taken care of, Charlie took me to The Lodge for my big, graduation dinner. Most of the time, we just sat there, but he'd occasionally fire off questions and random little things from my past. Charlie was doing a lot of reminiscing and it was a little funny because it aged him up a little more.

We went back home so that I could change before the party. I switched out o the clothes I wore to something a little more appropriate for the graduation party. Purple skinny jeans seemed to be in order with m favorite shirt on plus an unbuttoned, flannel shirt. It seemed good enough so I just messed up my hair a little bit before running back down the stairs.

Charlie offered to give me a ride to the Cullen's house, so I accepted. We got into his cruiser and made it out to the house. I had to give Charlie directions since he had never went to the Cullen's house, plus, I forgot the map that Alice sent on the invitation to the party. That didn't matter though since I already knew the way by heart. However, it was a little harder to find in the night.

"So," Charlie started to say, "you're marrying Jacob."

"Eventually," I said, softly. "I think we're going to wait until he graduates from high school."

"That's good," he said, calmly. "Are you sure about this, Rio? You know I already love Jake like a son, but are you sure that you want to marry him so soon after graduating? Don't you at least want to wait until you've went through a year of college? See what other guys are out there."

"You know that no one will treat me better then Jacob, dad," I told him. "Hell, we both know I hit the jackpot with him and Edward. What were the chances of me finding one guy who loved me so unconditionally, let alone two guys. That's especially rare in the gay community, it's hard to find great guys like them. No dad, I'm positive I want to be with Jacob."

Charlie just nodded his head before he began to complain about being lost. I told him we weren't lost just as we came across the bend that we needed to turn into. He took the turn and we were soon hit by a storm of twinkling lights that surrounded the Cullen house. We were both shocked by the beauty of it all.

"Alice really goes all out for her parties," said Charlie.

"Yeah," I told him. "Remind me to ask Alice to plan the wedding."

* * *

**Alliance:**

I showed up extra early like I had promised Alice I would. From the massive windows, I could see the flashing lights and everything else that Alice had going on. It was like walking into a New York nightclub, it was just pure insanity, and I loved it.

When I entered their home, I was truly impressed by how all out that Alice went for the party. There was not a single detail left untouched and it made me wonder just how she planned all of this. Granted, vampires don't sleep, but I was amazed how she got all of this here because I knew half of this stuff she couldn't get in town.

Alice was over by the speakers with a bunch of CDs in her hands. She briefly looked at Edward who was just coming down the stairs and smiled at me. Alice interfered though as she called him out to pay attention. "Do you think we should keep it simple or try to educate the kiddies with our taste in music?" she asked.

"Keep it simple," I told Alice. "You don't want to scare them off."

"Very true," Alice said, ducking to throw the CDs away into a bin.

I laughed as I joined Edward by the stairs and saw the rest of his family scattered about. Emmett and Rosalie were finishing up with the snacks, while Jasper was setting hiding anything fragile or could be used to cut someone. Carlisle was helping him with that, while Esme was keeping her eyes peeled for the incoming traffic.

Edward explained that Carlisle and Esme would "disappear" before the party began. Esme would keep watch over Charlie though to make sure that my stranger didn't visit him, while Carlisle would hide out here to make sure none of the party guests got killed. I easily saw how this could quickly turn into a tragedy and wished I had never agreed to this damn party. If one person so much as even cut their finger, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

Emmett served as a brief distraction though as he sprang up behind me. Like everyone else, he grabbed the hand that had the ring on it to check it out for himself. It wasn't long before Rosalie joined him and saw the ring on my finger.

"You just bounce around from one supernatural nightmare to the next," laughed Emmett. "Dating a vampire wasn't dangerous enough for you, now you have to marry a werewolf?"

"Behave Emmett," warned Rosalie. She playfully smacked him in the chest, which did make him flinch a little. He took a step back, while Rosalie played with the small diamond on my finger, grazing my hand with her frosty touch. "It's very sweet. Alice that the ring belonged to his mother?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding my head. "His dad gave it to him after she died. His mom wanted him to give it to the one he wanted to marry. Although, I think she might have meant for it to go to a girl."

"It's still romantic," Rosalie smiled as she returned my hand.

She left with Emmett to finish getting the party started. Not long after that, I saw the bright lights of a large Suburban pulling up into the driveway. I recognized Mike's car and soon enough saw a half a dozen teenagers jumping out of there. He brought Jessica, Angela, Ben, Austin, Tyler, and Lyra with him.

They all wandered into the house, Edward greeted them at the door.

Each one looked equally stunned as they walked into the Cullen home. I was the only person in Forks who ever came here. This was like discovery the Holy Grail. They were all just speechless as they wandered inside, trying to figure out what to do.

Lucky enough, Alice started playing the music to get something going. It was mostly awkward conversation though. Emmett nearly scared Mike to death though when he attempted to talk to him. Jasper looked uncomfortable as he stood beside Alice, clearly trying to restrain himself from doing anything stupid. I knew his control had improved since the infamous incident, but this was clearly going to be a big test for him.

At least there would be no alcohol involved at this party.

Soon, a few more cars began to pull up. A few more guests joined the party and everything started to get going. Once the first twenty people were here, things weren't as uncomfortable. People were talking very casually, a few were even dancing, and the snacks were being eaten. As more people started to filter in though, things began to change until it turned into a full-blown party.

By eleven, Alice went on to say that they party was a success. I countered when I told her it would only be a success when it was over. She scolded me for my negativity before pushing me aside before running up the stairs for a moment.

Edward replaced her, joining up with me as I found my way to an empty couch. He sat down in such a way that I'd never felt the shift in weight had I not seen him. "When do you and Jacob think you'll get married?" he asked, suddenly.

"No clue," I told him. "We've only been engage for not even twenty-four hours yet. I think that can wait until after we get rid of the stranger-newborn-Victoria situation. I don't want to risk any of them crashing the wedding."

"That's a good start," he said with a light chuckle. "I hope you two will be happy."

"You're going to come, right?" I asked. "To the wedding. I'm thinking about making Alice the wedding planner since she pulled this off in such a short time. I'm a little afraid to ask though. She'll probably go way overboard with it."

"Are you sure you would like me to come to your wedding?" he asked. "What about Jacob."

"He knows the rules," I told him. "I gave him a list of things to expect if he wants to be with me. One of those things was that he can't exclude you from my life. You still matter to me, Edward. I still need you in my life."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said, smiling, as he stood up. "I should go though. The fiancé is here. I don't think he'll appreciate me being around you right now."

"What?"

I was cut off though when I heard the doorbell ring through the music and talking. I got up from the sofa and made my way to the door. When I opened the door, I saw Jacob trying to stand there as cool as possible, but Embry and Quil pushed him out of the way so that they could come in. I barely said hi to the two boys and they barely responded back before ditching us.

I had no clue what just happened, but Jacob made his way inside the "enemy's lair" with a smile on his face.

Jacob held onto my hand as he took me back into the party where Embry had found his first victim as Quil tried to keep his friend in check. Jacob managed to latch onto Embry and dragged him away before he could traumatize the poor girl. Quil joined up with us as we sat down on the sofa, beginning to talk.

Jacob sat me down on his lap, while his friends surrounded us and started to act as noisy as ever. Just like everyone else so I knew to expect it, Quil and Embry grabbed onto my hand to see that it was the real deal. I was going to marry their best friend and the proof was the fact that I was wearing his mother's engagement ring.

"Wow!" said Quil.

"Didn't see this one coming," said Embry. "I thought he'd ditch you for the rich vamp."

"Haha," Jacob said, pushing Embry off the couch.

"Well, congrats," Quil said, cheerfully enough. "When's the wedding?"

"No idea," Jacob said, for me.

Quil started to laugh, while Embry got up and told Jake to hurry before I had second thoughts. We all started to laugh though until they began to tense up then craned their necks back to whoever was behind us. I looked back to see Rosalie standing there as menacing as ever with Emmett beside her.

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't invite the mutts," Emmett said, still bitter about the Paul thing.

"Too bad," Jacob said, holding onto me.

"Enough!" I said, smacking Jacob's chest. "Play nice or you're getting the ring back."

Jacob behaved after that, while Rosalie handed a microphone over to me. I was about to ask what for when she said that Alice wanted me to sing for everyone. "She said to consider it as a down payment," said Rosalie, "for her services for the big day."

I took the damn microphone and had Rosalie take me to the where the music was. I scrolled through the list, finding a song that seemed appropriate enough for a teenage party. Emmett popped up beside me and started to laugh from my song choice before disappearing again.

I looked back just as Jacob got off the sofa with Embry and Quil joining him. Half the people at the party were starting to look at me now. I swallowed down my nerves and what was left of the punch I had. It was time to shake my ass for the amusement of these people and to snag me a wedding planner.

The beat only played for a second before I started to sing.

"Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy. Grab my glasses, I'm out the door, I'm gonna hit this city. Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack, 'cause when I leave for the night, I ain't coming back! I'm talking pedicure on our toes, toes. Trying on all our clothes, clothes. Boys blowing up our phones, phones. Drop-topping, playing our favorite CDs. Pulling up to the parties. Trying to get a little bit tipsy!"

That's all that needed to be said before everyone started to cheer then sang along or started to dance and a strange power rose through my chest.

"Don't stop, make it pop. DJ, blow my speakers up. Tonight, I'mma fight 'til we see the sunlight. Tick tock on the clock. But the party don't stop, no. Don't stop, make it pop. DJ, blow my speakers up Tonight. I'mma fight 'til we see the sunlight. Tick tock, on the clock, but the party don't stop, no!"

I started dancing with Angela and Jessica, snagging them away from their respective boyfriends. "Ain't got a care in world, but got plenty of beer. Ain't got no money in my pocket, but I'm already here." I broke away from them and latched onto Jacob's massive biceps, sliding down his arm." And now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger. But we kick em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger." I ran away from Jacob just in time to grab onto Jasper before pushing him towards Alice.

Everyone was cheering and dancing at this point, drawn to a hypnotic spell almost. I didn't really seem to notice it though. The song was hypnotizing me as I gave myself more into my music as I danced along with everyone else.

"I'm talking about everybody getting crunk, crunk. Boys tryin' to touch my junk, junk. Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk. Now, now, we go until they kick us out, out. Or the police shut us down, down. Police shut us down, down. Po-po shut us!"

"Don't stop, make it pop. DJ, blow my speakers up tonight. I'mma fight 'til we see the sunlight. Tick tock on the clock. But the party don't stop, no. Don't stop, make it pop. DJ, blow my speakers up tonight. I'mma fight 'til we see the sunlight. Tick tock on the clock. But the party don't stop, no."

"DJ, you build me up. You break me down. My heart, it pounds. Yeah, you got me. With my hands up. You got me now. You got that sound. Yeah, you got me. DJ, you build me up. You break me down. My heart, it pounds. Yeah, you got me. With my hands up. Put your hands up. Put your hands up."

"Now, the party don't start 'til I walk in."

"Don't stop, make it pop. DJ, blow my speakers up tonight. I'mma fight 'til we see the sunlight. Tick tock on the clock. But the party don't stop, no. Don't stop, make it pop. DJ, blow my speakers up tonight. I'mma fight 'til we see the sunlight. Tick tock on the clock. But the party don't stop, no."

The music cut off on me and I stopped dancing, which led to everyone else beginning to calm down too. Everyone looked lost for a second, but it was soon followed with enough applause for me. I tried to play cool, but I was a little lost for a moment too. I handed the microphone over to Emmett before wandering back towards Jacob and the others who looked a little frightened.

I tried to ask what was wrong, but I noticed something else. Alice was standing on the stairs with a very vacant look in her eyes. Edward had a shifty look on his face so I knew that what she saw must've been very serious. Before I could go after them though, Jacob grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from everyone else.

"What did you do?" he asked. "You cast some kind of spell everyone while you were singing."

"No I didn't," I told him. "I just sang and they liked it."

"No, Rio," he said. "There was something way more to your singing this time. Do you remember what Sue said about the elves and their dancing? It was hypnotic, I could feel it. Even Quil and Embry could feel the pull, but we managed to resist. Every human here though, they didn't stand a chance."

"Oh shit," I mumbled, softly. "I need to be a lot more careful now."

"Yeah, you do," Jacob said, softly.

"Wait just a minute though," I told him before running away.

I chased after Edward and Alice before they could run off somewhere. Jacob was right behind me though with Quil and Embry following behind me. Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett soon came up towards us, each of us wanting to know what happened. Well, except for the wolves. They were more concerned with what was going on with me.

Alice turned to Edward who only nodded her head at her. I guess we were all past the point of keeping secrets, at least for now. "They're coming," Alice said, calmly. "I saw them now. They made their decision."

"The newborns?" I asked.

"Newborns?" said Jacob.

"Yeah," said Edward. "They aren't afraid of Alice's blind spots anymore. They want us to know that they're coming."

"I can't see who is organizing them, but they're on their way," said Alice. "Jasper, we need that training, now."

"How much time do we have?" Jasper asked, firmly.

"What are you people talking about?" said Jacob. "What newborns?"

I turned back around and took hold of Jacob's hands. I would need to break this to him as gently as possible before he completely freaked. So I quickly explained to him about the killings in Seattle involved the creation of newborn vampires who were running wild. I told him that I was positive that the stranger that came to my home was connected to them and Victoria or the Volturi might be behind it as well.

When I finished speaking, Jacob and the others had grave looks upon their faces. Jacob wrapped his arms around me, pressing my face against the t-shirt he was wearing. "Where are you going to train?" asked Jacob. "We want in."

"No," I said, pulling myself away. "Jake, you can't."

"They're after you, Rio," Jacob said, aggressively. "I'm not going to just sand here and let them kill you."

"A fight sounds good," Quil said, cheerfully.

"Finally we get to kick some ass again," Embry said with a huge smile.

"Maybe these dogs aren't that bad," said Emmett. "I admire their willingness to fight."

"Do you think Sam will go for it?" asked Edward.

"He will if it involves everyone else's safety," said Jacob. "If there is an army of your kind coming our way then there's no way we can just sit by and do nothing."

"Their numbers will help even things out," said Jasper. "How many did you see, Alice?"

"No more than thirty," said Alice, "but their numbers are dropping quickly."

"Why?" I asked Jacob.

"Newborns like to kill each other," said Rosalie. "They're completely out of control."

I tried to interfere by saying the wolves weren't getting involved, but Jacob wasn't listening to me. He just took hold of my face and kissed me gently on the lips. He told me once again that he was going to help keep me safe. He said goodbye to me after getting directions from Edward to the training grounds. The wolves left back for La Push to get Sam and the others so that they could prepare for the big showdown too.

What was really weird though was the fact that Jacob was so willing to work with the Cullens. After everything that happened, he didn't hesitate to join into the fight. The Cullen didn't argue with them either, they were actually willing to have them there for the fight.

Edward snuck up behind me, offering to give me a ride home so I could rest.

I told him no though, if Jacob was going to train then so was I.

"I'm going with you," I told Edward. "I'm not being excluded from this one."

"Fine," said Edward. "But you aren't fighting, I hope you're aware of that."

"We'll see," I smirked at him.

The party continued around us with my senior class going crazy, unaware of the coming battle.

At least they would get to live in blissful ignorance.

* * *

**Instruction:**

In the aftermath of the party, Edward carried me out into the woods once more to the spot where the training would be taken place. We buzzed through the trees and I could hear the wind whispering to me that evil was coming. I knew what evil the wind was speaking of as Edward carried me to an open clearing; he said that this spot would also be perfect for a rumble.

Edward dropped me on my feet and I looked around the dark area. It was already two in the morning, I wouldn't have been able to see a thing if it wasn't for the full moon and stars. It lit the clearing up enough where my human vision could see what was right in front of me.

Soon, the other members of the Cullen clan arrived to the clearing. Esme assured me that Charlie was safe and should be waking up soon enough to go to work. They all began to flock around each other too just as I heard something coming from the woods. When I snapped my neck back, I saw the wolves entering the scene. I smiled at the eight wolves, only to be surprised when I saw that two more had joined their ranks.

No…two more kids were dragged into my mess now too.

"Amazing," I heard Edward whisper. "I never could've imagined it to be so complicated."

"What?" Emmett asked.

"Their thoughts," said Edward. "They're all inter-connected to each other. They can read each other as easily as I can read all of you. It's like a hive of worker bees all connected together."

"Fascinating," Jasper mumbled, slightly sarcastic. "Edward, we're going to need a translator."

"Of course," Edward said as he joined his brother.

Carlisle led them both forward though towards the cluster of wolves. I noticed the way that Sam, the Alpha, responded to their coming presence. They took that as a sign not to approach further. Carlisle took the time to thank the wolves for joining them and briefly explained to them of the situation.

"How many are coming?" Edward translated for the wolves.

"Their numbers have dropped to twenty-five," said Carlisle. "We're expecting at the most twenty of them by the time they arrive in four days. That gives us time to prepare. Jasper will explain to you about the newborns. He's had the most experience with destroying them."

Jasper took the center stage at that point. He stood forward, while Carlisle retreated to the others. He went on to explain just how much stronger the newborns were compared to a mature vampire. It had to do with the human blood fighting against the vampire poison. The constant battle and nourishment of the human blood was what gave newborns such remarkable strength for the first year of life.

He kept going on about how you couldn't go for the obvious kill. You needed to be a little more creative, sneaky if you were going to destroy a newborn. "And remember," Jasper finished, "never let a newborn grab hold of you. They will crush you in an instant. Now, Emmett here will demonstrate the newborn mentality. I will show you how to properly defeat one."

After that was said, Emmett started to rush after Jasper. He went at him with full force, but Jasper got out of the way and blocked the attack. Jasper struck while Emmett's back was turn and easily disabled him, while demonstrating a "fatal" move that could be used against a newborn. Emmett went down quickly enough, some of the wolves were snickering at his fall.

Emmett sprang back up though and called for a rematch.

Once more, Jasper won and Emmett went back to the sidelines.

During the fight though, I had only one thought. I was concerned about Esme and Alice. They looked so frail and delicate, I couldn't believe that they would even consider going up against a newborn army. I wasn't so worried about Rosalie because her beauty was only the trap. She looked plenty fierce enough to kill a couple of newborns without breaking a sweat.

Jasper seemed to notice this as he called Alice up next. He was going to be the newborn in this scenario. I felt myself holding my breath as I feared for Alice's safety, especially now.

But I was in for a big surprise though. Jasper went after Alice like Emmett did before. Just like before though, Alice (the mature vampire) was able to escape from Jasper (the newborn). Only this time it was way different. My vision couldn't keep up with any of it. Half of it looked like one giant blur with Jasper trying to catch the almost invisible Alice.

Alice completely disappeared though. I was left wondering what happened and so was Jasper when she finally descended from a nearby tree. She grabbed Jasper from behind, tossing him over her shoulder with the greatest of ease.

"Oops," she said, smiling.

"Remember what I said before," Jasper said, getting on his feet, "kill them quickly. Don't give them time to get pissed off at you."

Esme fought in a manner that was similar to Alice. They were both so quick and graceful that no attack could seem to reach them no matter how hard anyone tired. They deflected everything before turning with a deathly blow that would probably crush the newborns.

The Cullens were all busy training when Wolf-Jacob approached me. His wet nose brushed against my hand until I finally took the hint and started to pet him. The massive wolf barked with joy before licking me in the face.

"Jake, you're so gross," I said, laughing. "Well, at least we won't have to worry about getting the kids a puppy. We got you."

He barked again, but it was still playful enough.

I returned to watching the training, while resting my body against the gigantic wolf. He knelt down beside me as I mindlessly watched the Cullens fight each other. They eventually called the training to a close as the sun rose up and I let out a massive yawn.

Edward was left translating for the wolves again. He told us that the wolves would incorporate the techniques into their battle strategy, making it a little more affective for them to use. The wolves started to filter out and Jacob looked like he was about to leave too. Not to my surprise though, Jacob returned from the woods with a pair of gym shorts on as he ran back towards me.

Edward stood beside me for a moment, going on about the psychic links that the wolves shared with each other. Jacob helped me back up and his warmth felt so nice in contrast to the cold breeze that blew in. "You're kind is a little more interesting than I thought," said Edward. "You're far more complicated then I gave you credit for, especially with the drama going on amongst yourselves due to another genetic mutation."

"What does that mean?" I asked as Edward rejoined his family.

The Cullens left us alone in the clearing, clearly they trusted me alone with Jacob now.

Jacob remained silent though for a moment before finally giving out a sigh. He sat down on the cold ground and I sat down on his lap too with my hands on his chest. "Leah is causing a lot of trouble with us," he said, softly. "It's bad enough that she gives Sam a hard time, now she's trying to drag the rest of us down with her. Collin and Brady have no clue what's going on though, Seth tries to remain oblivious too, and Paul and Jared don't want to interfere."

"I'm lost, Jake," I said. "What is Leah doing exactly? And…I'm guessing that Collin and Brady are the new wolves."

"Leah is talking about Embry's father," said Jacob. "Embry isn't supposed to be a wolf, at least in theory. His mother comes from a different tribe. We all know that his father got her pregnant then ditched her as soon as possible. Embry phased though so…so that means he's connected to the bloodline."

"So?" I asked.

"There are three possible families," said Jacob. "Embry's father could be Sam's father, we're all hoping that it's him since Sam's dad ditched too. The other two could be…Quil's father and Billy."

"No," I whispered.

"What makes it worse," Jacob continued, "is that mom was still alive when Embry's mom was pregnant and Quil's parents were alive and together. So either our fathers had an affair or Sam's father got Embry's mom pregnant."

"It's getting really hard to pity Leah now," I said, leaning my head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around me and agreed with me. His warm lips grazed against my neck before he placed a gentle kiss on it. I found myself giggling as I brushed away the awful feeling I had about Embry's parentage. He was too good of a kid to have to be suffering like that. Leah shouldn't be dragging everyone else down to her level of suffering. It was fair to make Sam and Emily miserable, but she shouldn't be hurting the rest of the pack.

Jacob lifted me up and carried me in his arms. He started to go on about how confident they felt about the fight, they were all so certain they would be able to crush the newborns. I reminded him not to get cocky otherwise he'd get himself killed.

"I promise I won't let that happened," he whispered, kissing my cheek.

"You'd better not," I said, holding onto him. "Wolfy, you're going to need to phase if I'm going to get home at a decent time."

"Not a problem, hold my shorts."

I took Jacob's shorts and tried not to look at his nakedness. It would be much too tempting to have sex with him in the clearing even though it was freezing. Lucky it took only a second to phase. Once he was all wolf-out and on all fours, I got on his back and held on tight as he took off with full speed.

Jacob wasn't as fast as a vampire, but it was damn close.

We made it to my house in no time. Charlie's cruiser was already gone from the driveway so I snuck the naked Jacob in through the backdoor. He followed me up the stairs with his right hand on my waist as we made it to my room. Soon enough, Jacob had me out of my clothes and my back was against the mattress.

I could barely remember what happened though. I was so tired at that point; I had probably fallen asleep, while Jacob was feeling me up. It felt so good though. I was so cold and he was so warm. It relaxed me so well that I couldn't try fighting the sleepy spell even if I had wanted to.

* * *

**Selfish:**

Warm, warm, warm!

I practically felt like I was sweating against this heat source, but I refused to let go. I could hear Jacob's soft breathing as my head was planted against his chest. His arms were around me, holding me so close that there was no way I would ever be able to break free. I smiled as I buried my face into his chest and slept the day away for as long as I could.

That didn't seem to last long. When I was fully conscious, I found myself lying on my side with Jacob spooning against me. One arm was wrapped around my waist, the other was over my chest and pulled me closer against him. I tried to go back to sleep, but it was plenty obvious that Jacob was awake by the way his lips traced against my neck. He took a gentle bite, forcing me to acknowledge his presence.

"Good morning, Jacob," I said, smacking his thick leg.

"It's afternoon, Rio," Jacob said, kissing the spot where he bit me.

I smacked myself in the face after I looked at my alarm clock. He wasn't kidding when he said that. It was already twelve and I had yet to do anything, Charlie would be way too suspicious if he saw me looking like a miserable mess. I was afraid to look at my reflection. I was even afraid to let Jacob see me.

Jacob didn't seem to care though as he spun me around so that our chests pressed up against each other. It was only slightly uncomfortable because I could feel my morning wood against his. Once again, Jacob didn't care as he held me as close as he possibly could. He had a hand running up and down my spine, while he used his other hand to trace jaw-line with his index finger.

"Guess what?" Jacob whispered to me.

"What?" I asked.

"I love you," he said, kissing me, softly.

I laughed against his lips. He was so dorky that it was cute, even his cheesy lines were enough to make me a little giddy. Jacob rolled us around so that he was on top and I had my back against the mattress. He broke the kiss though and started to kiss me everywhere. He kissed my cheek, then my chin, he worked his way to my neck, and then his lips started to work on my chest. My body tensed up as he licked my nipples and tease them with a gentle bite.

A soft moan escaped me each time he bit me. My hands were balled up into fists as I pulled at my bed sheets. His mouth started to roam lower until he passed my belly button and down to my aching erection. He brushed his hand against my pubic hair, grazing his fingers against my dick, and roamed lower until he could tease my thighs and balls. I cried louder as I clung onto my sheets before Jacob started to go down on me. My cries ceased as I lost the ability to speak for a moment. His tongue worked the underside of my shaft as his lips sucked me perfectly. I arched my back up into the air, completely unable to attempt to hold onto my need to climax.

I came so hard that a small part of me worried about drowning Jacob with it. That didn't happen though as he released my softened dick from his lips then came back up to kiss me. His own dick had deflated and I could feel some liquid coming out, he must've played with himself while he was sucking me. Oh well, I need to clean my bed sheets anyways.

We kissed for a long time though before we finally broke it off.

"That's not a bad way to wake up either," I whispered to him.

"There are many ways I can wake you up in the morning," he winked at me.

"When do you have to go?" I asked. "I'm sure Sam probably wants to do some training."

"Probably tonight before we go see the Cullens going at it again," he said, kissing my cheek. "I told him I was busy right now so I couldn't make it. Don't worry about me though, I'm a quick learner."

"It's so weird," I told him. "You're so willing to work with the Cullens all of a sudden. It doesn't seem right, almost."

"Well, isn't this what you wanted?" asked Jacob.

"It is, just a little weird to see it happen," I confessed. "This will take some readjusting too."

He laughed, kissing my neck before saying that we both needed to clean ourselves up. Charlie would be back in a few hours and I'm not sure how he'd respond to the both of us being naked in my bed. That would be interesting to try and explain. No Charlie, I had a snake bite so Jacob had to take my clothes off and his clothes to reach it.

Oh yeah, like that would ever work.

Jacob followed me into the shower. I still avoided looking at myself in the mirror as I got the hot water flowing. Our shower was only slightly bigger than the one Jacob had in his house so it was a little easier for us to both fit. Although, it would be a lot easier if Jacob wasn't built as a damn mansion.

I'm not sure how clean we got though since we spent most of the shower making out and feeling each other up.

It took a while, but we both eventually became presentable enough where Charlie wouldn't be outrageously suspicious of us. We were both fully dressed and clean bed sheets were on my bed with the dirty ones in the wash. I managed to give the shirt I stole from Jacob back, which was still clean enough for him to wear without raising too much suspicion from Charlie. Then again, why would my father have any reason to complain? He liked Jacob, he was a big supporter of Team Jacob.

We passed time until Charlie could show up that way we could properly announce the engagement to him. It wasn't fair that I just accidently dropped the bombshell. Jacob mentioned that Charlie didn't bother to mention it at the graduation ceremony so he figured that Charlie didn't know or was too angry with him to speak. There was one silver lining at least, Charlie couldn't blame this on an unexpected pregnancy.

It took longer than usual for Charlie to show up. I was almost on the verge of panicking, thinking that the stranger or somebody did something to him. Jacob assured me that nothing happened that he could smell all the vampires in town. He tried to keep me calm until I finally heard the cruiser finally pulling up into the driveway.

I sighed with relief as I saw my father coming into the house. I was ready to deal with the worst when I saw a massive smile plastered onto his face. Jacob noticed it too and seemed a little worried as to what was going on. Charlie seemed to ignore us for the first couple of minutes as he attended to his usual routine.

Even though we had the TV on almost a full blast, Charlie just walked on by like we didn't exist. I was worried that we pissed him off to new extremes somehow, but that changed as Charlie returned to the living room. His smile was still as massive as ever as he greeted Jacob and asked about the party last night.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked Charlie. "You're smile is creeping me out. Did you win the lottery?"

"I won a lottery," Charlie said, falling into his recliner.

"How much did you win?" Jacob said, excitedly.

"Not a dime," said Charlie, "but I did ask Sue to marry me and she said yes."

"What!" I shouted with Jacob joining in.

For a minute there, I was at a loss of what to say. What could I say to my father? He was getting remarried to the woman whose husband I directly killed. Her children were also werewolves, the son was a saint, but the daughter was borderline Devil incarnate. Nothing personal against women in general, but Leah was behaving horribly and I wouldn't be cool with her until she shaped up.

"Congratulations Charlie," Jacob said, shaking hands with my father. "You're not thinking of having a double wedding with us, are you?"

"No," Charlie said, laughing with his future son-in-law. "You kids will have your own special day. Sue and I already had the big wedding, we'll be going with something incredibly simple. She even said she might want to get married this summer."

"Oh God," I said, leaning back. "I'm going to have step-siblings. Oh God, Leah is going to be my step-sister."

"Sucks to be you!" Jacob said, laughing as he sat beside me. "I'm sure Leah will be nicer to you and Charlie then she is to the rest of us. She has no grudges against you."

"Don't jinx it," I said, elbowing him.

Charlie just went onto laughing. He was too happy for us to put a cloud over his one-man parade. He went back upstairs to change so he could go down to La Push to go see his fiancé. His giddiness was absolutely frightening to me, but I felt happy for him all at the same time. Charlie deserved to be happy and if Sue could keep him a happy man then I was willing to put up with psycho Leah and hyper-energetic Seth.

And now that Charlie's second wedding didn't seem like an issue with ours, Jacob started to go on and on about our wedding. For a minute there, I thought I was marrying a girl. It seemed like he had been planning this day all his life. Maybe he has, I'd have to talk to him about that one later.

When he finally went away, Jacob latched onto me and pinned me down on the couch. His sudden action caught me completely surprise where I nearly cried out for help. He capture my lips though to keep me silent and soon I drifted off onto a cloud of bliss. Despite my father being home, Jacob wasn't afraid to touch the police chief's son in such a sexual manner.

"I'm selfish," Jacob whispered into my ear. "All I desire is you, Rio. All I want is you."

"Why me?" I asked as his tongue touched the shell of my ear. I clung onto his t-shirt, pressing myself against him. I kept as quite as possible and tried to listen in case Charlie came down the stairs, but Jacob was just too distracting.

Jacob had a hand wrapped around my hair while using another hand to lift me up a little. How he managed to not to collapse on top of me was astonishing. He kissed me with such fervor that I nearly lost myself in it. "I've always been in love with you, Rio," he said, huskily. "Even when we were small, I think, it's always been you. Back then, I knew I only wanted to be with you. You are the only one who matters to me."

As he kissed me again, I could feel the truth behind the power.

I wasn't scared though. He wasn't being demanding or controlling, he was just being honest with me. It was honest, true love to Jacob. So I responded back with everything I could, I kissed Jacob back with everything I had in me, clinging onto him like I'd lose him if I didn't.

Maybe I was a little selfish too. I could live with that though so long as I was with Jacob.

* * *

**Compromise:**

Jacob's house down in La Push was made as my safe house for the pre-battle. Everyone was certain that no newborn would go anywhere near me if they smelt wolf around me. Their scent would be revolting enough to keep the newborns away for a while. I tried to press this idea to help me to get involved with the fight that was only two days away from me.

The only thing that seemed to work was the fact that everyone seemed to believe me when I said that everything seemed to be connected. Alice was beginning to see things a little clearer. Whoever was planning the fight wasn't as afraid to risk exposure with Alice. Plus, the number of newborns had officially dropped down to twenty. The Cullens were certain that the newborns' numbers were going to diminish once again, down to fifteen.

Who knew how many newborns would be left by the time the fight began.

Everyone was refusing to allow me to get involved with the fight in anyways. Well, it was mostly Jacob and Edward who were protesting my demands. The one time in their lives that they actually agreed with each other, it had to turn against me to keep me from doing what I wanted. I tried everything I could to let me help, but no matter what I said, nothing seemed to work.

I even got Jasper to turn to my side, but that seemed to only make it worse with Edward and Jacob. Jasper tried to convince them that my presence would drive the newborns into a frenzy and leave them completely vulnerable to being destroyed. That wasn't good enough because that seemed like too much of a risk. Neither one was willing to compromise my safety even with this minor guarantee.

From the last report I heard, the newborns were down to seventeen. Crime in Seattle had gone down a little so we all knew that the newborns were being mobilized. They weren't concern with gaining anymore numbers. Whoever was organizing all of this was ready to attack us. They or she was ready to bring the fight to us.

So I just lounged around in Jacob's living room, staring at the ceiling while he was away to train with the other wolves. I changed the channel mindlessly and ignored everything that was on TV. I gave up on television then dropped the remote on the ground so I could bury my face into the blanket I had with me. I hated being locked up like this. Just because I couldn't fight like a superhuman being didn't mean I was completely useless! I had plenty of fight in me, I could help with something at least.

Jacob started walking into the house then dropped down on the couch beside me. I pretended like he wasn't even there though as he tried to get my attention by massaging my feet. He knew I was mad that I couldn't help with the fight and he tried to make me think it was for the best, but I was a stubborn one.

"Come on, Rio," said Jacob. "Be reasonable. Sam's making Seth, Colin, and Brady step out of this one. They'll be in La Push too, watching over you and Charlie."

"You can't exclude me, Jacob," I said, kicking his hand away. "I want in on this fight. I'm the one they're after. They don't give a damn about you."

"Ouch, that's nice to hear from my fiancé," he said, crawling away.

I sighed as I pulled myself up from the couch. I grabbed onto Jacob's wrist before he could get too far away from me. "Wait," I said, softly. "Please Jake. I just want to be involved in this fight. I have to do something. You know I can't just sit here and do nothing. If you don't let me go then you know I'll do something incredibly reckless and get myself killed."

"Alright!" Jacob said, surrendering. "But we're going to have to make a deal."

"What kind of deal?" I asked.

"You have to make dinner every day during our first year of marriage," he said, smiling. "The only exception to the rule are the few nights we may end up eating out."

"That's not a big deal, Jacob," I told him. "I was already planning on doing most of the cooking."

"Oh darn," he said, shaking his head. "It looks like you get the better end of the stick then."

I laughed at just how much of an idiot he was as I leaned up to kiss him. He was a good man, finally he was caving into what I wanted. Now, I had to cave into what he wanted as he pulled me off the sofa and pulled me into his arms.

We didn't have to worry about Billy since he was busy fishing with Charlie. So we took advantage of the time we had and had as much as we could in the lonely house. The shower was the only place big enough for us to fit in, well, for Jacob to fit in.

After a few hours, we went to the clearing for our last chance to learn all the training techniques we could. Jasper went over everything we had learned from the beginning to that point. The wolves still kept their fighting styles a mystery to us, but Jacob said it was close enough to what the Cullens were doing. I sat on Jacob's lap, the only one who chose to be in human form. All the others refused to show their vulnerability to the Cullens. Jacob was the only one "brave" enough to do so, or incredibly stupid as Leah called him.

Despite the engagement, Leah was as frigid to everyone as ever. She was mean to the rest of the pack and still tortured Embry with his possible fathers. It was horrible and mean, I could hardly believe that someone would behave in such a way. The only thing that was redeeming was how kindly she treated Seth, compared to the others. I was ready to accept Seth as a brother though. He was everything that was good and pure in the world. If only Leah could act a little more decent to everyone else, it would make this whole step-family deal a little easier to deal with.

When it was all over, Jasper had a new plan to keep me safe.

"Jacob will carry you up the mountain," said Jasper. "His scent will throw the newborns off your trail. First though, we'll have you mark the battlefield with your scent that way they'll go completely crazy. The newborns will be unable to focus on a fight so we'll be able to crush them. With any luck, their leaders will show up and we can crush them along with the newborns."

"Sounds good to me," I said. "It makes me feel a little more useful."

"Please Rio," said Edward, "don't do anything stupid."

"I'll behave," I told them, "so long as all of you come out of this alive."

We agreed to this and worked on the battle strategy for the upcoming battle.

This was going to be a long day, but at least I had Jacob with me.


	15. Eclipse V

Author's Note: Well, this chapter is a lot shorter then usual simply because I kinda did the math wrong for Eclipse. Lol. So this update will only have four chapters from the book and the same will go for the next update as well. Then it will be onward to Breaking Dawn! So April will be the end of Eclipse and May will be the beginning of Breaking Dawn. I feel that its a little poetic in a way. I'm debating to have B.D. either 6 or 7 chapters. Depends on how I plan things out. Anyways, these next two updates will have me going all out for you guys. Oh, to hell with it. The rest of the fic will have me pulling out every trigger that I got in my pocket. Your head will be left spinning with all of the things I do that you won't know what the hell is going on until it's over. Haha. Well, I hope you all enjoy this update! Read and review! P.S. those of you wondering who Edward ends up with, well...you're gonna get a BIG hint at the end. You'll see why!

**Trails:**

It was the day before the storm, the calm that preceded the coming battle left me scared to the bones as I looked out my window. I finished packing everything I could for the long night ahead of me. Alice had warned me of a nasty snowstorm that was going to blow into the mountains that I would be hiding at. That didn't seem to make any sense to me since it was June! But it appears that Forks was just as capable of defying the laws of nature and her seasons as I disrupted the natural order of things.

Our battle plan was a simple one, at least that's what I thought it to be.

Jacob would take me to the summit of the mountain to mask my scent from the newborns. First though, Edward would help me spread my scent throughout the clearing where the fighting would take place. The newborns would be in a frenzy as they tried to find me that they would be left completely vulnerable to the Cullens and the pack. I was still impressed that they were all willing to work together for this one.

The most important part of the plan though was that my scent stayed hidden. If the newborns smelt me out then it would be dangerous for me at the summit of the mountain. It was because of this that I managed to snag me two protectors for the battle. I had convinced Jacob to let Edward watch over me, which kept him safe as he coordinated the battle through his mind reading abilities. Seth would also be with me at the summit; he would be the eyes for the battle and would send Edward's orders out to the others to the best of their ability.

This seemed like a very good plan, I honestly couldn't see what could possibly go wrong with it other than the newborns finding my real scent.

But I wasn't really thinking about my own safety, the safety of everyone else in town was my top priority. I managed to get Angela, Ben, Mike, and Jessica out of town with some concert tickets a few towns away. Charlie would be spending the day in La Push with Billy and Quil Sr., doing some deep-sea fishing. Everyone else in the immediate area couldn't be protected, but hopefully they would remain oblivious and unaffected to the battle going on.

I dropped to my knees in my bedroom and closed my eyes shut as I began to pray. I don't know why I had the sudden urge to pray, but that's what I found myself doing. I sent a prayer out to Freyr, even though I hadn't heard from the god in what felt like ages. So I wasn't sure if he was listening to me, but one could only hope at this point. Besides, it couldn't hurt to earn the favor of a god before a big battle.

"Freyr, Lord of Weather and Fertility, bless grant us your blessing," I whispered. "Please, offer us your heavenly aid during our time of need."

I didn't know what else to say so I just dropped my hands onto my lap, waiting for some kind of sign. But I didn't feel a thing, not like what it usually felt when Freyr was drawing near or at least acknowledging my prayers. I could only hope that he had listened and was just waiting on the sidelines to help whenever I needed it.

Without further a due, I grabbed my packed bag and made my way downstairs. Edward was already waiting for me in the living room with his arms crossed over his chest as he carried a slightly, vacant look in his eyes. Guilt almost ate away at my heart as I feared that I was the cause of this invisible pain that he so desperately tried to hide from me. As much as I couldn't hide my emotions from him, he couldn't hide his own from me. I had been too involved with him before, I could sense the pain that was building in his chest.

"You sure you want to go with me?" I asked him. "I could just wait for Jacob."

"No," Edward said, shaking his head. "I'll go with you, Rio. I want to be there for you as much as I possibly can."

"Okay," I whispered. "Thank you, Edward."

He nodded his head before leading me out of the house.

For the first time in a long time, I actually locked the door behind me.

Edward drove out to the woods and told me how this was going to be a long trip. The clearing wouldn't take much time, but the fact that I would need to "mark my territory" as Emmett said was going to be a little time consuming. Then there were the miles we'd have to cross to get me up to the top of the mini-mountain that I would be hiding at. Oh well, at least I wasn't going to be climbing Everest that much was comforting.

I took a step into the clearing with my thoughts straying to just how bloody this place would be after tomorrow. They would have to burn half of this place to turn the newborns into ash in order to make sure they'd never comeback. It was then I felt the guilt for these innocent newborns. They used to be human, they were all turned into the monsters they are today because of me. It was all because somebody wanted me to be dead so badly that they were sending hounds of hell after me.

I brushed the tears away as I prayed that the newborns would at least find peace in the afterlife.

My vampire companion seemed to sense the storm brewing within me to go with the nearing snowstorm. He had his hands on my shoulders, rubbing them gently in a way that made me miss his superhuman touch. "You'll be safe, Rio," he whispered. "We're all going to protect you."

"Wrong as usual, Edward," I laughed. "I'm not worried about my safety; I'm worried about everyone else. The newborns are monsters because of me, somebody forced them into this life because of me. And now they're endangering the lives of everyone I care for and who they care for. Charlie, Jacob, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, Seth, Mike, Jessica, Angela, Ben, and you. Everyone around Forks is in danger. And it's all because of me that we're in this mess."

"Don't say that, Rio," he said, holding onto my hands. "I won't stand here and listen to you pity yourself. You are incredible and you always follow your heart towards what is right. You are the best person I could've ever imagined meeting in my eternal existence. Even if we're not together anymore, I know that it was all for the best. Fate didn't mean for us to be permanent, we just needed to be with each other so that we could realize we have the capacity to love. It's because of you, Rio, that I'm certain that I must have a soul…in some shape or form. My soul exists somewhere."

I found myself smiling as he loosened his grip on me. I soon wrapped my arms around him and held him close for a moment. "I'm glad you finally realized I was right," I whispered into his ear. I kissed him on the cheek before breaking away, feeling remarkably better about everything that had happened and would come to pass.

The woods were where I'd drive the newborns into a frenzy. I rubbed my scent against trees every way I could. I had a few old outfits that I made sure to wear first before abandoning there. I thought about the whole pee thing that Emmett so wanted me to do, but that seemed a little weird to me though. That was until nature actually started knocking on my door so I just had to go to the bathroom really bad. I had no choice but to pee behind a tree, while Edward laughed at me in the distance.

Leave it to me though to trip as I was walking away from territorial markings. Thankfully, I didn't land in the pee, but I did cut my finger on a rock. My initial reaction was to spew a few curses into the air when I realized just how perfect this was.

Edward was coming after me with a band aid when I got to work. I touched everything I could with my bleeding finger, making little crosses on the tress. He only looked at me funny, while I began to smirk like the Cheshire Cat. "This is the best way I can help," I said, triumphantly. "The newborns will be too busy smelling my blood to protect themselves. It will give your family and the wolves the perfect opportunity to attack."

"Just hurry up, Rio," he said, shaking his head. "I don't want you to get your finger infected because you were going crazy bleeding yourself. Jacob wouldn't dream to allow me to hear the end of it."

"I have such a protective fiancé, but he gets the hint that I'm a little crazy and stubborn," I told Edward. "You should know that too."

"Oh how true that is," he said, cleaning the finger with an alcohol swab.

The cut was still fairly fresh, but it was healing quickly enough. He had barely put the band aid on when I felt the tingling feeling of my magic going to work to seal the minor cut up. Edward seemed to think that I had done enough of marking my territory around the woods. I thought I did a good enough job too now that I was pouring with dried sweat. He pulled out his cell phone before reminding to change into something warmer when I'd reach the summit.

Edward's melodic voice told the person on the other end to hurry. He barely hung up the phone and sat down beside me when I heard a howl coming from the woods. I picked my head up from the fallen tree we were sitting on to see the russet-colored wolf emerging from the trees. The pair of shorts dangling in his mouth was too adorable; I could only shake my head at him.

Jacob quickly shifted back to human and ran up towards me while he still fought to get his legs into his shorts. His little Jacob was wagging around all over the place in the process with his muscular physique bouncing around too. I noticed Edward turning away and shook his head, while I ran over to my fiancé.

"I missed you," Jacob said, wrapping his arms around me. "Why do I smell your blood everywhere?"

"I'm brilliant that's why," I said, smiling. "I used a cut to my advantage. Now the newborns will have no idea where I'm at. You're welcome."

"Great, at least you're that much safer," he said, continuing to hold onto me. "I should get you up to the summit now. You did pack the parka I got you, right?"

"Yes Jacob," I said, lifting the heavy backpack up. I briefly turned around to look at Edward who kept his distance from us. Despite feeling a lot more guilt free, there was still a tiny splinter of it digging around in my skin. "Thank you, Edward. I appreciate your help today."

"Anytime, Rio," he said, softly. "I'll meet you at the summit. I need to coordinate with the others first though. See you soon."

I nodded my head, waving him off as he disappeared from view.

Jacob behaved oddly well, which worried me a little. I turned back towards him to see him smiling down at me. He ran his hand down my arm until he could touch my hand. He took that in hold of his giant, warm hands and turned me into the direction of my hiding place.

This made me blush a little as I followed his lead. He took my backpack from me even and slung it over his shoulder. I felt like the skanky, little cheerleader and he was overly-muscular, football player who were walking down the hallways of high school. The mental image of it all made me laugh, which got him to raise an eyebrow up at me, a curious expression on his face.

"Don't ask," I said, kissing his hand.

"Fine, I won't then," he said, kissing mine back. "Hurry up, Rio. The storm is only a few hours away. I still have to finish up the tent."

"You haven't finished the damn tent!" I shouted.

"I was almost done when Cullen called," he said, nudging me. "If you hurry, we might be able to fool around before he shows up."

"Behave, Jacob," I said, threateningly.

He could only laugh at my pathetic attempt to frighten him.

"I'm serious, Jacob," I said, louder.

"I am too," he said, still laughing. "All we need is five minutes, ten at the most."

"Don't give yourself that much credit," I told him. "Five is being too generous."

"Ouch, just damage my pride, why don't ya?"

"Love you, Jake."

"Love you too, Rio."

Jacob held onto my hand tighter with his fingers grazing against the engagement ring.

* * *

**Fire and Ice:**

When we reached the summit, the storm was only an hour away from reaching us. Edward had already beaten us to the top and had the tent set up for us. A thermos of hot chocolate was waiting for me, which was a big relief to the coming chill that was breathing down against the three of us. I had slugged down all the chocolaty warmth to keep my insides toasty and had the parka on me for added warmth.

Jacob kissed me goodbye since he needed to run back down the mountain to coordinate the rest of the battle strategy. He also needed to send Seth the directions. He could've stayed at the top of the summit, but he felt that it would be too much of a strain on the mental link between the wolves. He promised to be back though in an hour, which I held him to.

But what a long, ass hour that was.

The snowstorm that Alice predicted had frozen my bones to frost, bitten stubs. I was shivering in my sleeping bag, fighting the frost from taking over the rest of my body. The parka that I had packed along with the rest of the warm clothes weren't doing much to save my skin. I was still a shivering ball of mess in the sleeping bag, while Edward kept his distance from me to keep me from becoming any colder.

No matter how hard I tried to close my eyes to sleep, I just couldn't. It was just too damn cold for me to do anything. I was so desperate to have Jacob's warmth around me, where was my damn space heater!

"There has to be something I can do," Edward whispered, trying to hide his pain.

"Jacob," I stuttered. "Get…his…ass…here!"

Edward could only nod his guilty head as he unzipped the tent. The blast of cold air didn't do much to help, but he zipped it back up soon enough then took off to find my fiancé. To be honest, now that Edward wasn't around, it was just a little warmer in the tent. Not enough to stop all the shivering, but I could feel the slight difference.

I was still a complete mess as my body fought for every speck of warmth it could muster up. Not even the camp-light could keep me warm. No doubt that the fire we had going outside had frozen up if it had not drowned because of the snow. Either way, I wasn't going to make it through this snowstorm if Jacob didn't get here soon!

The zipper began to go down and I shivered wildly before feeling the overpowering warmth. It was with a sigh of relief that I opened my eyes to see Jacob entering the tent in just his shorts without shirt or shoes on. Edward followed behind him and zipped the tent back up to shield us all from the elements.

Jacob began to pull the zipper to my sleeping bag down. The cold started to eat away at me, which didn't help when Jacob took my boots off. "Relax, Rio," whispered Jake. "You know I'm always at 108 degrees. Plus, did you know that your feet control your body temperature. The warmer your feet are then it spreads throughout the rest of your body. Since I doubt you'd rather cuddle naked with me for warmth in front of Cullen here."

"Please don't," Edward said, hissing with disgust.

"Behave you two," I said, shivering.

Then Jacob's hands touched my feet after removing my socks. I moaned with pleasure as his warm hands touched my flesh, spreading the nirvana of heat throughout my entire being. As much as I hated myself for that, he was so right about the feet thing. I felt insanely warm already as I unzipped the parka from my chest. I stuck to the t-shirt and sweater I had on underneath as I begged Jacob to get his ass into my sleeping bag.

Without any hesitation on his part, Jacob crawled into the bag with me and zipped us back up. I buried my face against his chest as his arms wrapped around me. All he could do was complain about just how insanely cold I was. He didn't seem to take the hint that it was absolutely freezing outside now that he was Mr. Never-gets-cold-werewolf! He could only keep on cracking jokes at my expense which made me want to shock him like I did in his garage, again.

I clung onto Jacob as much as possible that night. I refused to let go for even a second for the fear of freezing to death was high in my mind. This constant alert to the freezing cold left me in a dream-like haze for the longest time. I wasn't sure if I was awake or sleep or some dreamy combination of the two. The only thing I was sure of was that I could hear Jacob and Edward talking to each other. It was open for the debate though if they were actually talking to each other or if I was dreaming that they were talking.

But even in the haze, I could make out what was being said.

"You know, I'm impressed by your self-control," Edward confessed. "I was always told that werewolves were horrid creatures who couldn't control the beast within them. They were no better than wild animals, at least that's how we were always made to believe."

"It's funny how all the legends seem to be wrong," said Jacob, "but that's all they are, legends. They're just stories that we tell our kids so that they'd go to sleep and be good."

"But you believe in these legends," Edward countered. "Your thoughts don't lie. You're convinced that you have imprinted on Rio, that's why he chose you over me."

"Who knows what to think," Jacob whispered. "If it was a true imprint then he couldn't' even look at you and I would've already torn you into pieces or at least died trying too. The bond is supposed to be stronger then this and that's what scares me the most."

"You worry that you'll imprint on someone else," said Edward. "You fear you'll leave Rio just as heartbroken as Sam left Leah."

"You know that I hate you reading my mind, but you're right, Cullen," sighed Jacob. "It's my greatest fear. I just wish I could know what was going on. Everything is just so different between us, more so then it needs to be. It wouldn't be so complicated if we were just all human."

"Don't I know that," said Edward. "I wish I could be human again, so I could live the life I was meant to have. If only I could've met someone as incredible as Rio sooner too. That would've been enough for me, I could've died a happy man."

"Funny how cruel fate seems to be," Jacob said, while brushing my hair. "Have you truly given up, on Rio, I mean. You won't get in the way of our happiness, of our wedding?"

"I'm a man of my word, Jacob," said Edward. "I know your generation doesn't appreciate this as much, but back in my era, a man's word was his honor. If you broke your promise then you were better off dead. Continuing to live would just be a disgrace upon your family."

"So like that was when the king and queen still ran England or something?" laughed Jacob.

"Long after that," Edward said, laughing a little with him. "But in all seriousness, Jacob, I will always bare feelings for Rio. However, I will respect the decision that he has made. He has chosen you to spend the rest of his life with, I'll honor that. Just know this, if so much as a hair falls out of place while he is with you, I will hunt you down and finish you."

"Don't threaten me," said Jacob. "I'm the one who has to threaten you. You're the one who could potentially steal Rio from me. Besides, you already broke his hear when you left. You will never know just how broken you left him. It was heart-breaking to be around him, I wanted to cry for him since he didn't have the strength to do it on his own."

"You're right," continued Edward. "I'll never know. I can never make it up to Rio either. I suppose that is all the more reason as to why he should be with you. I left to protect him from my world, but Rio just can't stay out of a mess for long. He is too prime a target for all the supernatural nightmares in the world."

"That's right," Jacob laughed. "I just want to lock him up in a bubble sometimes. You think they make bubbles strong enough to withstand a vampire attack?"

"Tanks are barely enough to keep a vampire away," said Edward.

"I guess I'll have to build me a tank then," Jacob said, cheerfully. "Now, can you explain to me for how long we've been all buddy-buddy now? We can't stand each other's guts. We're mortal enemies to one another. How are we able to behave so nicely right now?"

"It could have something to do with Rio," said Edward. "I could always tolerate your presence more whenever he is around."

"Same goes for you, leech," snarled Jacob.

He held onto me, making his own protective bubble as he pulled me closer.

"How long do you think our truce will last?" asked Edward. "Can we maintain our civility until after the battle or shall we crumble once the sun rises?"

"Once the sun rises," they said together.

There was a jolly laugh in the toasty tent as I curled my being against Jacob. I wanted to say something, but he failed to realize just how conscious I was at the moment. Jacob just kissed my lips as he told me to rest as he held me even tighter against him. I couldn't move at all as I held onto his perfectly, sculpted chest and drifted off into a deeper sleep.

Despite the sleep though, I was still aware of the talk that Jacob and Edward were having.

"Jacob who is the third wife?" Edward asked. "I remember Rio saying something about it while he was sleeping. I'm guessing he got it from one of your legends."

"Yeah, the Third Wife," Jacob whispered.

From the looks and feel of things, Jacob was playing the beach scene in his head. It was no doubt a clearer way to getting him a better picture of the bonfire. The stories that were told, involving the history of the tribe. I had just no idea how far Jacob was going to show to my ex-boyfriend. I could only pray that he kept the thoughts decent and focused more on the story itself.

That came as a relief for me.

Edward merely stayed his surprise before saying that would be something I'd do. Jacob couldn't help but to agree as he held me closer and I felt his breathing grow softer. Soon enough, Jacob fell asleep on top of me and I was out for the remainder of the storm, while Edward looked after all of us.

Yup, this turned out to be an interesting night for my lovers of fire and ice.

* * *

**Monster:**

There was nothing but dead silence with the only noise I knew came from Jacob's soft snores. I slowly began to open my eyes to see that I still chest-to-chest with Jacob. His arms were barely hanging around me so I was able to sneak out of his hold and climbed out from my sleeping bag. I picked up my boots and put them back on before sneaking outside of the tent to see the damage.

I was surprised by how warm it actually was considering that last night we had a horrible snowstorm. It looked like I wouldn't need my parka today, so long as the snowstorm didn't return for us. Edward said that it would only be the one storm though. And I wasn't about to bet against Alice, I wasn't taking that gamble.

As I made my way closer to the mountain's edge, Edward was standing there like a perfect statue, the epitome of what man was in Ancient Greece. It was simply breathtaking, but I managed to keep my breath in check. I joined Edward by the edge, but kept it far enough where I wouldn't be in immediate danger of falling off.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Edward.

"Yeah, I had a good sleep thanks to my space heater," I said, smiling. "I'm sorry, Edward. I know that probably wasn't easy for you to watch, me falling asleep with Jacob. That probably just poured salt into your wounds. I shouldn't have dragged you into this."

"Who else would you have then? I honestly didn't mind, Rio," he said, gently. "This is the decision that you made. At least I know that Jacob will take care of you as well as I could. He will keep you safe from everything, I know that he'd gladly die to save your life."

"I don't want anyone to die for me," I whispered. "I just wish things could be normal. I wish all of this never had to have happened. I wish it all could've just been easier for me."

"I know," Edward said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "But life can't be easy then you wouldn't really be living."

"Wouldn't that make me a vampire then?" I tried to laugh.

He laughed, obviously he got my lame attempt of a joke.

But that still didn't help to make me feel better about all of this shit. Once upon a time ago, Edward and I had this epic romance going. I swore he was the one I wanted to spend eternity with, I was so certain that I'd never love another. And I promise that too, but then Edward left and Jacob came into the picture. I fell in love with Jacob, thinking that Edward didn't love me any longer. I didn't want to be alone any longer. Then Edward came back and everything just hit the fan at that point.

Now I was with Jacob, and Edward was pushed aside. Even though I was happier with Jacob then I ever thought possible, I felt the guilt for what I did to Edward. In his hundred years of living, I was the first person that he ever fell in love with. Would he have to wait another hundred years before he could find someone else again? He would be forced to see the one he loved with another man, marrying him and have kids with him.

How insulting!

I am such a monster, far worse then my vampire ex-boyfriend and werewolf fiancé.

I shivered away from Edward and had my arms wrapped around my sides. I felt horrible as the thoughts started to plague me. It was true, I am a monster, a horrible monster that doesn't deserve happiness.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Edward.

"This isn't right," I held back a scream. "I'm a monster. I don't deserve to be happy, it isn't fair to either one of you."

"Rio, I told you that I'm okay," Edward said. "Honestly, I'll be fine, just worry about your own happiness."

"But I screwed up with you though. I wronged you so much."

"Rio, it's okay," he promised. "I'll find happiness. I told you before, we were necessary but not meant to be."

Edward kissed my forehead just as I heard the tent unzip. I froze and looked away as Jacob pulled himself out from the tent, I prayed he didn't see that. Jacob's look was unresponsive so I had no idea what he saw us do or what his perspective on it would be.

Edward just walked away from me, while Jacob approached with his bare feet melting the snow.

Jacob's hand touched mine and the other traced up my neck. "You love me, right?" he whispered.

"Yes, I love you, Jacob," I said, fear present in my voice.

"Good," he said, leaning in to kiss my lips. "Seth is here."

I opened my eyes from dazzling kiss to see a sandy-furred wolf coming out. My future step-brother had made his presence known with a soft bark escaping his muzzle. Jacob only nodded his head at the little wolf before breaking away from me to join him. Seth shifted into human form and took the pants he had with him, putting them on while Jacob covered my view with his towering figure.

Seth started talking to Jacob a little, but I couldn't quite here everything that was being said. Jacob only nodded his head though before he started to make his way out to the woods. That's when I knew that it was about to begin. The war is upon us, and here was my fiancé about to run off to nearly certain doom.

"Jacob, wait!" I shouted, running passed Seth to my fiancé. I latched onto his hand, keeping him from going any further. I pulled Jacob back with all the strength I could muster, but it didn't do much to make Jacob budge against his will. "Don't go…don't leave."

Jacob turned around, frowning as he looked at my face. His hand reached up to touch my face to wipe away the tear that I had on my face. "You know I have to go, love," he whispered. "You'll be safe though, Edward and Seth will watch over you. The fight will be over before you even know it. The bloodsucker's sister said there's only fifteen left, it won't even be a fun fight."

"Can't you stop doing that!" I said to Jacob. "Quit treating this like a joke. You're so reckless sometimes that it scares me to death. You don't take things seriously enough. I worry every single day that you'll die because of it. I wish you would just be a little more cautious about it."

"Rio, don't worry."

"I wish everyone would stop telling me that!" I shouted. "Don't worry, don't worry. I'm sick of it! Of course I'm going to worry about you because I love you, dumbass! I would be a horrible person if I didn't worry about what happens to you. You're not as indestructible as you think you are! It's possible for you to die, you're easier to break then a vampire."

Jacob wrapped his arms around me, pulling me as close to him as possible. I knew I looked like a complete idiot as I cried against his body. I didn't bother to try and control myself at all. I didn't care if I was acting like a hysterical woman. I didn't care about any of it! I just wanted Jacob to stop acting like it didn't even matter.

He leaned down and kissed my head, rubbing his hand down my back. "I'm sorry," he whispered to me. "I'm sorry for worrying you so much. I promise that I'll be careful, for you and our future family. You won't have to worry so much though because I will watch out for myself and the others. I promise you, Rio, that I'll comeback to you and then…then we can get married."

"You better come back in one piece," I said against his chest.

"I will," he promised.

He kissed me with all the passion he had inside of him. I clung onto his body and returned the kiss, refusing to let Jacob go. I wanted to be selfish, I wanted to keep him here, but I knew that I couldn't keep Jacob away from the fight. His warmth though gave me hope though. I knew we would make it out of this okay, I knew in my heart that he'd come back home.

So with the mind-boggling kiss, I felt better about all of this as he broke away.

"Edward," Jacob shouted, "you better keep Rio safe. Seth, if shit happens then you get Rio out of here and run as fast and as far away as you can."

Jacob then shifted into his wolf form, not bothering to remove his clothes as he crashed onto his paws and took off running.

I shivered as I stood still and watched as he left me. I felt horrible as Wolf-Jacob disappeared into the woods for the fight at the clearing. I wasn't sure how soon the fight would be over and we'd all be safe again, but I knew that today would be the longest day in my life for me. Everyone I cared about would be in danger, fighting for survival and for my life. And here I was, hiding on top of a mountain like a coward.

I barely registered the footsteps that came up from behind me. A small hand touched my shoulder, shaking me out of my trance for a moment. When I looked back, I saw Seth was standing behind me with a soft smile on his face.

"I'm not going to say don't worry, so don't fret," Seth said, his smile growing. "I got your back, Rio. I'll keep my ears open so I know what's going on. Besides, we're going to be step-brothers soon, a weird, happy family."

"You think Leah will behave?" I asked.

"She likes Charlie so she'll be decent, at least," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

I chuckled a little before hooking my arm around Seth's. He was nowhere near as being as big as the other wolves, but he had a little more meat then I did. "You know, I always wanted a little brother," I confessed to Seth. "A sister was always optional with me, but a big sister would be nice too."

"Well, I always wanted an older brother," said Seth, "and now I'll have two. You'll be my step-brother and Jacob will be my brother-in-law. It's a win-win for the both of us."

I smiled, agreeing with the young werewolf before letting him go so he could phase and we could prepare for the long battle ahead of us.

Once again, I found myself praying to Freyr for luck on our battle today.

This time though, I felt a warm breeze blow in again my neck that filled me with more hope.

The god was on our side.

* * *

**Snap Decision:**

It had started.

Edward and Wolf-Seth were working together on coordinating the battle that was going on below us. I had barely returned from the tent with my half frozen water when Wolf-Seth started to bark and Edward shouted at the wolves to be more careful. Seth probably got the message down to the others, but it was still frustrating that I was completely in the dark with what was going on down there.

All I knew was that the battle was nasty and Edward looked paler then I ever seen him. He was clinging onto the fabric of his ice-blue long-sleeve, while continuing to bark orders that I could barely understand at Seth. My future step-brother was barking back at him as he looked down the summit to the battleground. I decided to make my way to the edge in order to see if I could see the battle that was going on for myself.

My human eyes weren't strong enough though to see a thing. The only thing I could see was the melting blanket of snow, I couldn't see the clearing where the fight was taking place. So I tried to concentrate, using my elf abilities to strengthen my vision to where I could hopefully see something. I felt a small wave of magic rushing over me as my vision suddenly became clearer and stronger, I was able to see the fight for myself.

Just as I got close enough to see, I saw Embry and Quil rip a newborn apart with their sharp fangs. The man didn't stand a chance as the two powerful wolves tore them to bits. His limbs were scattered apart with the wolves jumping away to go after their next target.

Leah had just snuck up behind another newborn as well. She managed to rip the female's arm off when Sam rushed in to rip the head off. Behind them, another newborn tried to crash into them when Jasper knocked that one over and rip his head off without the slightest moment to pause.

I saw Jared save Carlisle from one of the newborns, which was surprising. Jared had tackled the newborn to the ground with his massive weight alerting Carlisle to the danger he was in. The elder vampire then jumped into the air and landed on top of the newborn where he proceeded to rip the newborn apart.

Paul didn't look as lucky as the others. He got jumped by two newborns, but Rosalie and Emmett managed to rescue him before it was too late for him. Emmett easily broke the newborn's limbs off when Paul rushed in to finish him off. Rosalie finished off the female she was fighting with a sharp kick that knocked it over, giving her the time needed to decapitate her. There were heated glares shared before they both nodded their heads and ran off to fight more newborns.

Esme and Alice were bouncing around all over the place, striking the newborns from every possible angle. I was so amazed by their raw speed and grace. The newborns they went up against didn't stand a ghost of a chance against their nimble bodies.

"Jacob's there now," Edward said, catching my attention.

I focused on the woods where I saw the russet colored wolf emerging. A great roar escaped his muzzle as he rushed over to the others, jumping across the air to rip a newborn into pieces. I started to smile as I saw Jacob take another of the newborns down, leaving only a few more newborns alive.

But what I really wanted to know was where the grand organizer of this scheme was hiding.

I tried not to dwell on this for too longer when I suddenly got a nasty chill down my spine. My vision returned to normal just as I saw a newborn trying to attack Jacob from behind. I was left wondering what happened to my fiancé, but that quickly changed as the chill got colder as I over to Edward and Seth.

The both of them were shivering too and I knew that this couldn't be a good thing.

"Shit!" Edward growled. "Seth, I want you to hide now. I want to keep you a surprise. It looks like you get your chance to fight after all."

Seth nodded his head as the sandy-furred wolf disappeared behind the trees.

I looked over to Edward, grabbing onto his cold hand. I tried to ask him what was happening when he crouched into a fighting position. He put himself in front of me, locking his own hand around mine. It was at that moment that I knew we weren't safe. Whoever had plotted this big fight was here now, we'd soon learn who was behind all of this mess.

"I should've been more careful," whispered Edward. "They knew you wouldn't be down there. They knew we'd be keeping you safe, but they knew I'd be with you. They couldn't find your scent, so they followed mine. They waited so that Alice couldn't warn us. It was a snap decision, this is their moment to strike."

"Then it's the Volturi?" I asked, my worst fear coming true.

"No," Edward said, shaking his head. "It's Victoria…and she brought a friend."

I was relieved to hear it was Victoria, but I was also terrified. The Volturi would've been much worse to go up against then the red headed vampire who wanted her revenge against me. So it was exactly who I always thought it was. I just knew that Victoria was behind all of this, she wanted me dead so badly that it just had to be here.

I kept my distance, hiding my frail form behind Edward as I began to hear the rustling in the trees. The snowy trees and bushes broke apart as two figures emerged into view. Almost like I had remembered from the first time I had met that evil woman.

Victoria was the first one I noticed even though she was behind a man. Her hair was far brighter then I remembered it to be, more like the fire that burned with revenge. Her feline features sharper as her red eyes spoke a wrath that hell hath no as she neared us. She dressed simply with a purple vest and a dark-green, trench coat on top with a pair of tight, black pants.

As for the other man, I almost gasped when I saw him. He was young, not a day older then I was right now, I bet. He had a strong physique with muscles that heightened this strength. His blond hair was cut short and his face was rather handsome, although, frightening because of his vivid red eyes. He only wore a black coat over a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

I felt horrible for this poor boy because I could already see just how Victoria was just using him to get to me.

"You don't need to do this, Riley," said Edward. "Victoria is only using you like she's using the others, fighting my family and allies. She doesn't care if any of you live or die, you're only her tool for revenge."

Riley paused for a moment, a contemplative look on his face. Edward was reading his mind in order to better understand this poor bastard and possibly turn him against Victoria.

"Don't listen to him, Riley," Victoria said. Her voice was far more childish then I remembered it too be. It was soft and delicate almost, which completely went against her horrific nature. "I told you about the mind games they play. He is trying to turn you against me. You know that it's only you."

"She lies, Riley!" shouted Edward. "You are nothing to her! All those nights you were together, she never looked at your face because she was thinking of another. It's just as you believed, she doesn't love you. This all about her avenging her true mate, James. I killed him to save Rio so she wants revenge by taking everything that matters most to me."

"No!" Victoria howled at Edward. She latched her delicate hands onto Riley, stroking his cheeks softly. I could already see it in this Riley's eyes, he was falling for her tricks into a deeper pool of mud. "You're the only one I love. This is the only way we can both stay safe. If we don't kill them now then they will only come after us in the future. You know how terrified I am of them. Please, Riley, believe me."

"I believe you," Riley finally said. His voice was youthful, but tainted by his nervousness of the situation. "I love you, Victoria."

Edward tensed up as he turned back to me just as the two shared a kiss. "You need to be on your guard," he said, quickly. "Riley is a newborn so he'll be tough to fight. And I can see Victoria's gift now, self-preservation. That's how she's been evading us, her power allows her to fight safe spots to avoid all of her attacks. We need to move quicker than her abilities."

I nodded my head, already holding my hands up to gather what power I could muster up.

Riley and Victoria broke away, grinning at us just as a howl was heard. Seth flew over the tent, landing besides us and growling as loud as he could. Edward smirked now as he announced that he had a loyal friend on their side. Victoria's eyes widened with utter terror, I could tell she knew what Seth was and that made her cold body run even colder.

That's when it started.

Edward went after Victoria, while Seth took on Riley.

Seth launched himself after Riley in every possible way that he could. He moved with such speed that it impressed me, but he was nowhere near as fast as the other wolves. I just hope that Seth was skilled enough to handle Riley on his own. No, he wouldn't be on his own. He had me to back him up.

As for Edward, I couldn't even see what he was doing to Victoria. For a minute, I thought they were dancing as the two moved around each other with such remarkable grace. That's when I remembered what Edward said about her powers. She was finding all of the safe spots to dodge his attacks, which gave it the appearance of her dancing. He was going to have to fight harder then he could and faster. He needed to be stronger then Jasper and faster than Alice.

I heard a brief howl as Riley punched Seth in the side. My wolfy step-brother went flying towards the tent, right passed me. I cried out Seth's name just as I heard another cry of pain. I saw Edward being attacked by Victoria and Riley at the same time. He was thrown into a tree with Riley pulling up a second one to whack him with, cracking his marble skin as the tree shattered apart. Edward fell to the ground, unable to move as Seth did the same over by the tent.

"That was too easy," Victoria said, smiling. "You've been alluding me for too long, boy. There's nothing to keep me from finishing what James started and avenging both him and Laurent. The little light you have will be snuffed out."

"No," I said, softly.

Victoria and Riley jumped after me when I least expected it. Once again though, time seemed to slow down as I felt something building up from within me. I stood my ground as the two vampires came after me with full speed. This wouldn't be the end for me, I wouldn't allow myself to die, not after coming this far.

"Go to hell, bitch!" I shouted.

I raised both of my arms up and gave out a painful scream. I smacked my hands down to the snowy ground as a blue wall took form around me. The same wall that I spent a month trying to perfect with Emmett as my training partner finally pulled itself up without any trouble. The true test was going to be withstanding two vampires at once.

They crashed into my barrier though, fighting to break through it. They couldn't though, I had too much magic built up within me as I pulled my hands back up. Using what strength I could, I pushed them both away as I shattered my barrier apart. This time it was Victoria and Riley that were blown away, crashing onto the snowy ground, far apart from each other.

Edward had jumped back on his feet, seemingly recovering from the attack. He rushed over towards Victoria just as Riley was getting back up too. The two collided for a moment with Edward doing his best to knock Riley away, while Victoria recovered from the impact. I felt too exhausted to try and attack again, so I tried to call Seth out so that he would hurry up and get back up.

Victoria decided to go after Edward though and soon enough, she and Riley had their hands on him. I felt nothing but fear as I looked to see that Edward would soon be killed unless a miracle occurred. That's when she came to my mind. I saw a sharp rock on the ground and I immediately had a memory from the bonfire of the Quileute legends…of the Third Wife.

I snatched the rock up and without even the slightest bit of hesitation, I cut my own arm until it began to bleed.

The coppery scent had already hit my nose so I knew that they'd be distracted. Victoria and Riley immediately released Edward as my scent soon took over their nature. Their eyes turned a deep shade of black with their fangs fully grown as they went after me.

However, Edward latched onto Victoria and pulled her away from me.

Seth finally recovered too and crashed himself into Riley. The newborn's senses were too distracted by my blood to bother with Seth. So the werewolf was able to sink his teeth into the newborn's neck, dragging him away into the woods to finish him off.

Then it was just Edward and Victoria.

She had reclaimed control of herself, but it didn't seem to be enough this time. Edward was all over as he did everything in his power to end her so that she'd never get a chance to come after me again. Even though we were no longer together, I could see in the way that Edward fought that he still valued me living above all else. He fought so that I could continue to breathe, he fought so that he and Jacob wouldn't have to suffer losing me.

Edward had her in a head-lock, I could see that it was all over now. He sank his venomous fangs into her neck and tore it apart. Victoria's eyes started to lose their luster as she twitch and fought to break free. It was too late for her though. Edward finished her by severing her head from her broken neck, breaking the marble woman apart as he dropped her carelessly on the ground.

Unlike her hair, Victoria's fire was gone as her existence finally came to an end.

I sighed with heavy relief, knowing that she'd no longer be coming after me. I immediately ran towards Edward, hugging him as tightly as I could. He held onto me as he whispered how he promised to keep me safe. He dropped me back onto my feet though and examined the cut I made on myself. He tore part of his shirt off, wrapping it around my arm to cover it as my magic got to work on healing me.

There was brief whimper behind us as we turned around to see Seth limping behind us. The wolf was holding up one of his legs, clearly injured by what Riley did to him. He then collapsed to the ground, returning to his human form just as Edward rushed over to him. I started to make my approached and removed my parka to cover the boy up a little.

Edward quickly checked Seth's arm and felt that the bone was misplaced. He quickly announced that it was broken, which was why Seth felt the pain he felt. Edward got to work on fixing it just as felt another presence. I looked up to see Freyr standing by the woods that Seth immerged from, beckoning me with his hand.

"Fucker broke my arm," Seth whispered. "I couldn't finish him though, but I did rip off half of his neck though. He won't be coming back anytime soon."

"Where is he?" asked Edward.

"Behind the trees," Seth barely responded.

I had sprang up to my feet though and ran towards the trees. Edward tried to chase after me and was yelling my name when I heard him suddenly turn silent. I briefly looked back to see him behind me, but he was frozen along with Seth. I looked over to Freyr who continued to stand by the woods as he ushered me to follow.

"Two lives can be saved today, Rio," Freyr said, as I approached. I followed him behind the trees until I saw a shivering Riley as he fought for survival. Seth wasn't kidding when he said he ripped half his neck off. There was almost nothing left of Riley. "You can save his life and the life of a little girl."

"What girl?" I asked the god.

"You will meet her soon, but you must save this one," said Freyr. "He was used by Victoria to lead the newborns, but he only wanted to be at peace. If you heal him then you can give him a second chance that he craves."

"He tried to kill me, remember!" I said to Freyr.

"Only because he was manipulated by Victoria," he corrected me. "Ask him if he wants to be saved. I will help you revive him."

I sighed as I dropped to my knees, beside the dying newborn. As I looked into the boy's eyes, I could see his past appearing before me. He graduated from Forks High in December, just one month before I arrived. He was going to medical school in Seattle when Victoria found him and forced him into becoming her puppet. He only wanted to save lives, now he was made into a killer.

I grabbed onto my heart as I fought the tears that wanted to come out. Suddenly, I thought about Carlisle and just how similar the two could be. It was then I nodded my head and knew just what I had to do about all of this.

"Do you want to live?" I asked Riley. "I can heal you, but on one condition. You can never feed from another human ever again. I can convince the Cullens to take you in, they will be your family, they will treat you better then Victoria ever did. Do you want that?"

"Why…" Riley said, his voice cracking as he struggled to speak, "do…you…want…to…help me?"

"I'm only doing the right thing," I said. "And, it's my fault you were turned in the first place. If Victoria didn't want her revenge then she would have never forced this life upon you. So…do you want me to help you?"

Riley stayed silent for a moment. A few drops of blood escaped his neck as he did so with his cracked limbs growing larger in the process. "Please," he whispered.

I turned back to Freyr who placed his hand on my shoulder. I placed my hands over Riley and closed my eyes as I gave it my all. A golden wave of light began to escape me as I felt Freyr's godly powers become one with my own.

When I opened my eyes up again, I saw that Riley was completely healed and looked exactly how he did before the fight stared.

Riley started to pick himself up so that he was sitting up. He glanced at me just as I felt Freyr's presence disappear from my sight. Then his hand touched one of my hands that I still had floating up. His cool skin felt exactly like the Cullens. There was a gentle smile on his face and I was certain that I did the right thing.

"Thank you," said Riley.

"You're welcome," I told him.


	16. Eclipse VI

Author's Note: Well, here it is kiddies. This is the final chapter for Eclipse. I'm going to take a brief hiatus though so I can better prepare for Breaking Dawn. I have no idea what I'll write for it like I have a general outline but there is still a lot of preparations that need to be made. So after this update, I'll be taking two weeks off. Plus, I have finals to prepare for and two other fan fics that need a little more love. So I hope you all understand that I need a brief break. I hope you guys like this update. Feel free to read my others stories too to kill some time. Or reread this one too. Haha. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Read and review!

**Mirror:**

Riley followed me back to the others just as time began to resume for Edward and Seth. I knew that Riley's still breathing scent would alarm the both of them so I would need to be ready to respond quickly before he was killed again. I was careful though as I approached my friends, reviving Riley had taken a little more out of me then I expected, despite that I had a god giving me a power boost. Healing him had taken a lot from me so I needed to not to push myself to the boiling point.

It was a good thing that Jacob wasn't here right now.

When we reached the campsite, Seth was the first one back on his feet. The parka I had given him fell off his small frame as he prepared to phase. Edward jumped in front of Seth though and shouted for me to move though as he was about to spring into action.

"No, wait," I said, loudly. I put myself in front of Riley before Edward or Seth could try to lash out at him. Riley was tensing up though, I knew it was taking a remarkable amount of control on his part to stay so calm. That or the fact that he was exhausted from almost dying again took a lot from him as well. "It's okay, I brought him back to life. Freyr told me to do it."

"Why would you do that?" said Edward.

"Umm…what's a Freyr?" Seth said, slightly calm.

Edward dropped his fists down, but Seth was still tense as he stared at us. I doubt this was either one of them was expecting to see today. I kept my cool as I started to walk over towards them, pulling Riley along by the sleeve of his jacket.

"The god told me to save Riley," I told them. "Apparently, Freyr thought that Riley is innocent and deserves a second chance, at least more so then the other newborns that Victoria sent. He also said that there is a girl I need to help too, but I don't know how that one works. Riley, apologize to Seth and Edward for trying to kill them."

Riley froze at that point as he stared at my other two companions. I could tell that he was sizing them up, but clearly his reason started to take control as he relaxed a little more. Edward seemed to calm down a little too, but Seth was still on guard though. My guess was that Seth was ready to take another bite out of Riley if need be. At least he wasn't as openly hostile as the other wolves.

"I'm sorry," Riley said, softly. "I…I didn't know. Victoria…" He turned to the red head's destroyed body that laid only a few feet away from us. I forgot that Edward hadn't burned her remains yet so that she'd be nothing but ash. "She convinced us that this was the right thing to do. She made us believe that she was innocent and you wanted to kill her. She made me… Oh God."

He fell to his knees at that point, tears coming from his red eyes as I barely heard something leave his throat. I swore I heard him say Diego, whatever that meant. I didn't try to pry though as he knelt there, unmoving and silent as these tears fell down his marble cheeks.

Edward nodded his head before pulling a lighter out and flinging it at Victoria's remains, lighting her up. He went over towards Riley, dropping down on his knees to help the newborn up. I watched and was amazed by just how gentle Edward was with Riley. It looked very brotherly, but I watched the two of them together.

They'd make a cute couple.

I walked away, moving towards Seth to see that he was still holding his arm. I forgot that Riley had broken it during the fight. "You really did some damage to him," I said to the naked boy. I picked the parka up and put it on his shoulders. Seth responded as I helped him into the coat. "You get to be my bodyguard the next time a newborn army tries to kill me."

"Do you really plan on this happening again?" Seth asked, laughing a little.

"Who knows," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "We both know I have horrible luck."

Seth only nodded his head as he continued to hold his injured arm. Edward joined us again with Riley by his side, no longer crying. The four of us looked over at Victoria's ashes to see that all traces of her were now gone. She was blown away by a chilly breeze, nothing more but a nightmare now.

Her ashes floated down towards the clearing, which is where I knew we needed to go next.

Nobody argued with me as I started to walk down the mountain, but it was Seth who handed back the parka to me. He phased into a wolf and started to make his way down with remarkable speed. Edward lifted me up with Riley still at his side, they started to run down the mountain together, down to the clearing where the fight was hopefully over.

I could only assume we were going down the mountain because the fighting was over. Edward would've said something if there were still newborns, other than Riley, running around. Seth though…he would've ran off to take down a real newborn since Riley came back. I could only assume that Riley only stuck around due to his own curiosity for this family I promised to help him find.

That didn't take longer than a few minutes. The trip down the mountain was a lot quicker than the slower walk I had with Jacob up it. We made it down to the clearing just in time to see the smoke cloud with a big bonfire going on. I briefly glanced back at Riley after Edward dropped me back on my feet. There was a look in his eyes that made me believe that he felt guilty for all of this now too.

"Victoria did this," I told him. "She was using all of you."

"I know," Riley said, sadly.

We walked around the fire with Wolf-Seth leading us to the others. The wolves were circling around the Cullens now that the battle was over. I was pleased to see that they were all able to behave well enough, but soon enough most of the wolves went away except for Leah and Jacob.

Wolf-Jacob started to make his way towards me, rubbing me with his giant muzzle. I giggled as I kissed his wet nose only a second before he growled a Riley. "Be nice," I whispered to him. "We made a new friend."

Leah nudged Seth who simply yelped in a dog-like way. He ran off towards the other wolves into the forest when a sharp growl surprised us all. We all spun around to see a newborn springing up from out of nowhere towards Seth. It all happened too fast before any of us could do anything about it.

Leah jumped in the way, knocking the newborn down. But the creature reacted quickly enough, recovering and nearly latched onto her. It was Jacob who ran interference this time. The newborn tossed Leah towards the boulder before attacking Jacob. My eyes widened with horror as I screamed Jacob's name, seeing as the newborn began to crush onto Jacob's sides.

Riley responded first with Edward and Jasper running behind him. They pulled the newborn away, Edward remained with Jacob as the other two finished the newborn off. The newborn was torn to bits then thrown into the bonfire with the other newborns, turning into ash.

I cried as I went towards Jacob, watching as he shifted into human form. He was in so much pain that's when I saw the blood behind him. "The newborn bit you," I whispered as Jacob gave a horrifying scream. I cried harder while hearing his suffering cries. His body shook and twisted in such a painful manner that I felt like my chest would explode.

"Jacob!"

The rest of the pack came running and started to circle around all of us. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder, looking back to see Edward behind me. He pulled me away as the wolf pack started to lift the injured Jacob up. Leah and Seth followed in wolf form as they started to take off.

"Meet us at Jacob's house," I head Sam say to Carlisle. "Rio will show you the way."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," said Carlisle. "We have another crisis to avert before more blood is spilt."

I kept crying for Jacob when Alice got in front of me. Her sorrowful look almost destroyed me as I feared that she may have seen the worst possible outcome. Did she see me try to kill myself? I knew she couldn't see Jacob's future, but she could at least see mine. She would know the outcome just by looking at me.

"We're in trouble, Rio," said Alice. "The Volturi are here. I need you to stay strong for as long as you can. It's the only way we're going to make it through this. It's the only way we're going to save Riley and Bree."

"Bree?" I whispered.

It was then I noticed the girl who was standing between Carlisle and Esme. She was just a girl, no older then Seth. She was very petite and kinda short for the age she looked. She did seem pretty though like the rest of the immortals around her. Dark hair went down to her shoulders and was a wavy mess that partly covered her red eyes. She was a newborn, her eyes were proof enough of that.

Riley went towards Bree, she recognized him by the look on her face. I had stopped crying long enough to see the brief display of sorrow between the two before Alice's warning dawned on me. My other nightmare was coming here. The Volturi had finally made their way to Forks at the worst possible time too. We just survived the newborn army, Jacob was possibly dying because of that attack, and now the Volturi were going to show up.

I didn't even want to begin to think of how this could get worse.

"Carlisle," I said, softly, "do we have enough time? Will Jacob…"

"He should be fine, Rio," said Carlisle. "I'm certain that his own healing abilities will buy us some time, but we must hurry to get the Volturi to leave. They will not honor the truce we have with the wolves. It will be a disaster."

"You won't have to wait any longer then," said Alice. "They're here."

I kept myself together long enough to see them coming from the woods. There were four, ancient vampires that emerged and brought with them a cold chill. Their presence was enough to infuriate me at this point. They were keeping us from helping Jacob, he needed my help now. My fiancé would die unless we did something to help him, soon.

My fists tightened up as I recognized her face. The evil, angel-faced Jane and her equally angelic twin, Alec, were walking together side by side. Felix and Demitri were also present, I recognized them from my encounter with them in Italy. They were both just as menacing as ever, but nowhere near as terrifying as Jane.

It was almost like looking at a mirror. As I looked at the Volturi guards, I saw what a true vampire was; the horrific and bloodthirsty monsters that the legends were based on. But with the Cullens, I saw what a vampire could be. I saw the potential to be something good, defiant of their "evil" nature. They were nothing alike at all, this was just a joke of a reflection.

Jane turned to look at the burning bonfire with an apathetic look on her pale face. "I have never seen a coven survive such an attack of this magnitude," she said, plainly. "There had to been over a dozen newborns…and it looks like two got away."

"We're fortunate that one of us was experienced with battling newborns," said Carlisle. "It is a pleasure to see you, Jane, Alec."

"Yes, a pleasure, Carlisle," said Jane.

"Aro sends his regards," said Alec. "He would very much like to speak to you again."

"I suppose I should make a trip to Italy soon then," said Carlisle.

"He'd like that," Alec said, smoothly.

All of this pleasant talk was making me anxious as Edward and Alice kept their guard around me. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper weren't too far off either. Carlisle kept his position with Esme and our two newborn friends. I kept my eyes on Jane though, I didn't trust her for even a moment. I've seen what she could do, I never want to allow her to inflict such pain on another again.

"These two," Jane said, pointing at Riley and Bree, "they are with them, no? I think we should have a friendly chat to see who sent them."

"You already know," Riley said, boldly, surprising us all. "You went to Seattle, remember. You told Victoria that you'd allow her to destroy the Cullens so long as we were all disposed of."

Everything was silent as we looked at Jane at this point. Alec and the others didn't bother to hide their shock too, while Jane remained perfectly stoic about the situation. She merely sighed as she began to smile at him.

"I did no such thing," she said, firmly. "You mustn't tell lies, boy."

Riley dropped to his knees as a painful scream escaped him. He held onto his head and I could feel the invisible pull of Jane's power. I briefly turned to Jane, seeing her smile grow larger when I heard her scream. Bree was screaming now too as she crouched near Riley with Esme trying to comfort her.

"Enough!" said Carlisle. "Enough Jane, you cannot hurt them. We offered the girl amnesty in exchange for her surrender."

"That wasn't yours to give," said Jane. "Only the Volturi have final say."

I couldn't take it any longer. I broke away from Edward and Jasper, marching my way towards Jane. The Volturi vampires didn't bother to pay any attention to me, I wasn't even blinking on their radar despite the fact that I was obviously getting in their way.

"Leave them the hell alone!" I screamed.

My voice held a power that I never felt before. I felt chills all over my body, none of which were brought on by the vampires around me. The pull of Jane's power diminished to nothing and I could see the look of fear in her eyes as she looked at me. Alec, Felix, and Demitri also bore a similar look that I couldn't understand.

It wasn't until I felt the warmth that I understood what had happened.

Freyr, the god was standing beside me now. He took a few steps in front of me and put himself between me and the vampires. "You do not belong here," boomed the god's voice. "Return to your land. I have offered the newborns my protection, which they have accepted. Leave now, Volturi, unless you wish to war with me."

Lightning cracked across the sky as the god's image vanished from sight.

Jane took a step back, rejoining the others with her eyes locked on mine. "Aro will hear about this," she said, bitterly. "These two will live solely because Marcus has given us orders not to interfere with the half-elf. This isn't over though, Ilario Swan. Your god has more to worry then a pathetic half-breed like you."

"It's a good thing I have a fiancé then," I said, smirking at her. "Bye Jane."

The Volturi disappeared in the blink of the eye, leaving us all sighing with relief.

I ran towards Carlisle, latching onto his arm and told him that we needed to get to Jacob. He agreed with me as he had me climb onto his back so we could get there faster. He took off as fast as he could towards La Push, no longer worrying about the boundary line since Sam had given the vampire his blessing.

And an Alpha's word was law.

I could only pray that we would make it to Jacob in time.

* * *

**Ethics:**

His screaming was unbearable, I had to clasp my hand over my mouth to keep myself from throwing up. The tears that ran down my face as his screams got louder were enough to rip my heart into shreds. Even with Seth, Emily, and everyone else there it wasn't enough to diminish the pain that I felt for him, the pain of losing Jacob was ever present.

I knew that Carlisle was doing everything he could to fix him up. He gave a brief summary of how the newborn had crushed Jacob's bones, while sinking his teeth into the spine. Resetting Jacob's bones was the easiest part simply because it was within Carlisle's limits. The blood, though, that was totally dependent on Jacob though since Carlisle could not tolerate the blood nor would Sam or the others allow the doctor's fangs anywhere near Jacob.

It didn't help that Billy returned home to all of this…with Charlie.

There had been no point in keeping the secret any longer, it took some convincing though to get away with it. Sam was downright refusing to allow me to tell my father, but in the end he had no control over me. Despite the fact that I had no say so since I wasn't a member of the pack, I didn't really care. Billy had given me his blessing though as the tribe elder and as a future in-law. I turned to Charlie and told him about everything I could, which distracted me from Jacob's screaming pain.

I didn't tell Charlie much, I saved all the juicy details for another day. I kept it simple though that I was a half-elf, Jacob and the others were wolves, and the Cullens were vampires. I told him that it was a vampire attack that did this to Jacob. I avoided all the detail about the newborn army and the Volturi simply because…because I wanted to be there for Jacob. The story would take too long to explain for now, I kept it short and sweet.

Thank God that Sue was here. She sat with Charlie at the table, briefly telling him a few other things to only add to the holes in his head. She was aware of some of the deal. The pack helped to explain too, although they focused more on what they were, straying away from the Cullens and vampires as much as possible. I was surprised that they weren't' saying anything bad about them, but I figured it had to do with Jacob's life hanging in the balance.

My heart was beating so loud that I thought the sound was bouncing off the walls. I held onto my chest, praying that this would be over soon and that Jacob would be all better. I was almost relieved to see Carlisle when I saw the frown on his face. My heart sunk down to my stomach as I feared the absolute worst had happened to Jake.

"Carlisle," I whispered.

"I did everything I could," said the doctor. "The injuries were bad though. I set his bones back into place and gave him enough morphing to incapacitate a horse. His body is burning the morphing off though, he'll feel the pain soon enough. All that matters now is that his body repels the venom, if he can do that then he'll be able to make a full-recovery in no time."

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen," Billy said, there was a lot of grief in the man's voice.

"My pleasure to help," Carlisle said, softly. "I should be returning home now. Rio, Jacob wishes to speak to you. Goodbye everyone."

The doctor disappeared in a blur and I almost ran to Jacob's room. Nobody did anything to stop me, not even Charlie spoke a single word as I ran to my fiancé. I slammed the door shut behind me as I squeezed into the tiny bedroom, dropping to my knees.

Jacob was covered in sweat as he laid on his stomach. There was a bit of dried blood on his skin, but most of it had been cleaned off. The bandage on his back was where most of the damage was, which is what caused him the most pain as Carlisle fixed him up. He just looked like a miserable mess and it devastated me to see my Jacob like this.

His eyes said so much as he looked at me, glassy eyed. He was suffering from so much pain, but he was able to withhold the screaming that left me so traumatized. "I wish you didn't have to see me like this," he said with a broken voice. "Sorry that I couldn't keep my promise…"

"You did," I cried, "you're still alive."

"Not sure about that," he whispered. "I feel like I'm dying, Rio. I don't think I'm strong enough to fight the venom. My body feels so weak…I don't know if I can hold on any longer."

"No," I whimpered. "You can't die on me, Jacob Black. We're going to get married and have a family, remember? You promised me…you promised."

"And I promised to never make you cry again," he said, touching my cheek. "I broke that one more times than I can count. I'm sorry, Rio…I really am."

Jacob closed his eyes, his breathing growing weaker by the second.

I shook my head as I grabbed onto Jacob's limp arm. I tried to shake him back up, but he wasn't budging as he slowly began to stop breathing. I cried louder, begging this not to happen. I couldn't lose Jacob now, I'd be damned if I lost him after everything we've been through.

I couldn't lose Jacob. I won't lose Jacob. I need Jacob. I'll do anything to save Jacob.

"Take my soul, Freyr," I whispered. "Please, I'll give up anything to save Jacob. Please…I can't lose him. Please!"

"Look within yourself, Rio. You can save him without my help."

My hands were shaking as I looked at the covered up wound on his back. That was the source of all the pain that was the spot that was causing his death. I had my hands above it, slowly peeling away at the tape that stuck to his skin. The muscle underneath tensed, showing me signs of life as I revealed the sharp bite mark on his back.

I closed my eyes and thought about Jacob as I placed my hand on the mark. I felt strange, suddenly everything was bright when I opened my eyes to see nothing but light in the room. I didn't know what I was doing. I wasn't even sure if this was helping Jacob, but this is what felt like the right thing to do. This was the only way I could save Jacob.

I had no clue if it worked or not as I suddenly grew completely exhausted with my sight going black and felt my body crash to the ground. I heard a lot of voices but that was about it. I'm not sure what was happening because my mind suddenly went…blank.

When I finally woke up though, I shot up to discover that I was in my room. The first thought that came to mind was that everything had been a dream. The army wasn't here yet, there was still time to warn Jacob before the newborn attack. But then I thought about it, it had been real. There was a mark on my arm from where I cut myself with the rock to keep Victoria and Riley from killing Edward.

So that meant that Jacob's fate was completely unknown to me. That thought alone was enough to make me burst into tears without any warning at all. I curled into a ball and wept like a child as I feared that Jacob had truly died because I failed to save him.

"Don't cry, Rio," said a soft, husky voice. "I'm here now."

I ripped my hands away from my face to see Jacob crawling onto my bed from a chair beside me. His heavy weight caused the mattress to sink a little as he curled his warm self around me. His hand touched the tears on my face and brushed them away before his lips claimed my own.

"How?" I whispered as he pulled away. "I thought you…"

"You saved me, remember?" he smiled. "I was drifting away when you healed me. You passed out though before I could catch you that's when Embry and Quil showed up. You've been knocked out for three hours, I was worried that you were beginning to go all Sleeping Beauty on me."

I didn't care about the details as I cried against Jacob's chest. I didn't care that I was making a mess of his shirt or that I probably looked like a disaster right now. All I could care about was that Jacob was safe, he was alive still.

"We can survive anything together," Jacob whispered into my ear. "We'll always be there to rescue each other."

He kissed me one more time, while I still wept in his arms, shaking as I fought the urge to fall asleep again.

* * *

**Needs:**

**(Edward's POV)**

We returned home with our two additions, while Carlisle was with Rio in La Push. My heart went out to the boy that I deeply loved now that Jacob was dangling between life and death. I felt horrible for not being able to sense the newborn's thoughts before the attack took place. I should've heard the bloodlust and anger as it tried to attack Seth to get to Rio.

Alice felt guilty too; she blamed herself for not seeing that one. I couldn't blame her though and neither would Rio. Rio was too saint-like, he wouldn't blame any of us for this, he would only blame himself for failing to save Jacob. It amazed me that Rio could remain such so kind even with all this darkness that tried to suffocate him.

He was so kind that he even spared Riley's life and saved Bree. I admit that I'm not certain about having these newborns in our care now, but I was amazed by the self-control that they both displayed. I never seen a newborn with such skill, they deserved the chance to continue with this second life.

Esme guided Bree to the sofa while Riley hovered around her. The others joined in the living room, watching them both carefully as I scooped their minds for everything. I wanted to make sure that we shouldn't be expecting any surprise attacks, but their minds were nearly blank though. Victoria had trained them well. She no doubt got her information from the time that Laurent spent up in Alaska.

"I don't know how you can stand it," Bree finally blurted out. "That boy's blood…I wanted to drink it so bad. He smelt so good."

The image that popped not her mind was of Rio. She had seen the scar on his arm where the dried blood was still present. I should've been more careful and done a better job to clean him up. If Bree didn't have so much control over herself then Rio could've been attacked. It would've been like two years ago all over again.

I could see the smirk forming in Jasper's head. He was just happy to know that this new lifestyle would be a struggle for someone other than him. It was far from being a nice thought and I would've lashed out at him had I not known the struggle that Jasper has been going through. He's come so far these last couple of decades; I wouldn't want to squander that.

"You'll adjust, sweetheart," Esme said, the eternal mother. "It wasn't easy for any of us, but we made it. We'll be there to help you every step of the way. We're your family now."

"Victoria said we were a family," Riley said, bitterly. "Look where that landed us. She just used us to get to you all. What's going to stop you from doing the same to us?"

I could already see that Emmett was ready to knock Riley's face him. I stopped my brother before a fight broke out between them. Emmett was exhausted from fighting the newborns, it wouldn't be a good idea for him to fight Riley now that he's been healed by elf and god magic. I was afraid to see what kind of side-effects that might have on Riley, especially if he could control them.

"Behave Emmett," I told him. "Riley has a point. I could see how Victoria used them all. She even had Jane side with her. Trusting us won't be easy for them."

"Edward's right," Alice said, defending me. "It's going to take time, but I can see us all becoming one big happy family in the near future. We just need to find a way for everyone to like each other. But first, we need to come up with a cover story for these two. Are we going to say that Carlisle and Esme adopted two more kids to replace all of us?"

"I'll take the girl in," Rosalie said, her words and thoughts surprised me.

Rosalie's thoughts were soft and…motherly. I could see the way she looked over Bree, I could feel her age-old desire to have a child. She always did dream of having a little girl, this was the perfect opportunity for her.

"You sure, Rose?" asked Esme.

"Yes," Rosalie said, walking over to Bree. She knelt down and touched the girl's pale cheek. "I always wanted to be a mother and I always thought that Emmett would make a good father. If you look closely too, the two of them even look alike, a little."

"Well, Bree," Emmett said, joining his mate, "you okay with this? To the humans, you'll be our adopted daughter. In this house, you can be whoever you want. You can be our daughter if you wish."

"My parents are dead," Bree said, sadly. "I…I suppose it wouldn't be so bad to pretend that they're still alive."

The happiness that boiled around Rosalie's heart made her thoughts grow wild. I felt happy for Rose now that she was at least able to pretend like she had the perfect like she always dreamt of. It wasn't exactly how she pictured it, but it was close enough to what she wanted that she could live with it.

Rose hugged Bree with Emmett continuing to hover over them. Esme was crying about how she was a grandmother now, which made all of us laugh. I felt something was missing though and when I turned around I saw that Riley wasn't in the living room anymore. The others hadn't seem to notice or just didn't care that much.

I could still hear his thoughts, all of which were focused on his anger for Victoria. I followed him up the stairs and saw that my bedroom door was opened. I went inside to see Riley sitting on the bed that I had gotten for Rio. I just couldn't find myself able to part with it, with what could've been.

Riley was looking out to the cloudy sky with his hands balled up into the fabric of his pants. He didn't even register my presence in the room until I finally found myself sitting next to him. I don't know why I was sitting with him, but I could feel that something was pulling me towards him. I don't know if it was just his pain, or my own insane need to help, or even the fact that he had been touched by Rio.

The boy I was willing to die for…

Jacob Black, I swore to God and the Devil that if you hurt Rio then I'll make you suffer a fate worse than death.

"You're the mind-reader, right?" Riley said, calmly. "Victoria warned me about your powers. She said if I wasn't careful with my thoughts then you'd be able to read me like an open book."

"Correct," I said, softly. "You're not so easy to read though. Some people are harder to read then others. Some seem to have mental wards in their heads that make it difficult or even impossible for me to read them. I can't Rio's mind at all, his elf-blood prevents me from intruding on his thoughts."

"What about those wolves?" asked Riley. "Ugh, I don't even want to think about that little one. He nearly killed me."

"You hurt him pretty bad too if it makes you feel better," I told him, and it did. "Their thoughts are easy to read, they don't control their thoughts as well as others do. It is through their thoughts that they communicate with one another, it's like a bee-hive."

"Well that's neat for them."

"You're hurting a lot, Riley," I told him. "It doesn't take a mind-reader to know that. Victoria used you in the most horrible way imaginable. She killed so many innocent people just to have her revenge on us for killing James. Her selfishness knows no limits, you deserve better than that, Riley. We all deserve someone who will truly love us, wholeheartedly."

"Like the way that Rio kid loves you?" he asked. "Victoria said he was your mate."

I sighed, sadly as I looked back out the window. I truly wished that he didn't have to bring Rio up in such a way, but it was only fair that he knew. "We're no longer together," I told Riley. "I blew my chance with him. I pushed him to the arms of someone else, someone who just may be his soul mate."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Riley. "Do you think you'll find someone else?"

"It took me almost a century to find Rio," I said, softly. "I don't know if I'll find another. I won't try though. I had given up when I found Rio and he brought light back into my life. I'll see what fate has in store for me, I'll keep my heart open to the possibilities."

"You sound like a true romantic," he said, laughing. "I don't know if I want to stay alive any longer though. This is just too difficult. I can't do this on my own…I need help."

I placed my hand on top of his fisted hands. He looked at me with his red eyes softening as snapped him away from his painful thoughts. I had to admit, Riley was an attractive young man. "You'll never be alone, Riley," I told him. "You have all of us now, a real family. We'll be there for you whenever you need us."

"How do I know that you won't turn on me?"

"You'll just have to trust us," I said, smiling. "We'll trust you as long as you trust us."

"Alright," Riley said, smiling back. "I'll do my best."

He got up from the bed and pushed the window open so that he could step outside. I followed him out, embracing the sunset as I felt a mind returning to life. I could hear Jacob's thoughts and felt the love he had for Rio burning bright.

Rio was in capable hands, I know that now.

Riley leaned off the edge and continued to smile before jumping down then ran towards the woods.

I laughed as I followed him, embracing the warm breeze that was blowing against us.

* * *

**Epilogue - Choice:**

**(Rio's POV)**

It was finally warm in Forks for a change. The weather was perfect, the sun was setting above us, and not a single cloud was in the sky. This was the perfect day to have a wedding reception.

A canopy stood in the middle of the park with dozens of tables and a large space for dancing. I sat at our table, watching as Charlie had the first dance with Sue. This morning, they went down to the courthouse to officially get married. And now at the park, we were all gathered to celebrate their union on this beautiful evening.

The smile on my face widened as I watched Charlie manage not to screw the dance up. I had spent the past two weeks trying to teach him how to dance. It wasn't easy, and it was worse since I wasn't that great of a dancer, but I think I accomplished a miracle. Charlie looked well poised in his black tuxedo as he spun Sue around in her fitted, white dress.

I applauded my father and new step-mother as their dance ended. I felt sincerely happy for Charlie as he returned to the table with his new wife holding onto his hand. They joined all of us back in the table, our new extended family. Leah sat beside her mother with Seth next to his sister. They were both dressed up for the occasion, Leah in a lovely blue dress and Seth in his tux. I looked at m own tux, feeling a little self-conscious since I knew I would be wearing another one of these very soon.

My body tensed up for a second when his warm hand snaked around my waist. I nearly jumped out of my chair as Jacob pulled me closer against the maroon shirt he was wearing. The sleeve of my coat brushed against his black tie, pushing it aside a little with me leaning up against him. I smiled as I placed my hand into his free, giant hand. Jacob's fingers soon began to play with the ring on my finger.

"So when do you kids plan on getting married?" Sue asked from across the table.

"Next summer," Jacob said, smiling. "I'll be out of high school and eighteen. Rio won't have to worry about being called a creeper for marrying a minor."

"I'm already creepy enough for being engaged to you," I said, laughing.

Everyone else in the table joined in on the laugh when Jacob suddenly pulled me up to my feet. I stumbled forward a bit and nearly head butted him in the gut. He laughed though because I was just so damn helplessly clumsy sometimes. This wouldn't be an issue if the damn, man giant didn't try to throw me around all over the place.

Jacob remained silent though as he dragged me over to the dance floor so that we could dance together. His hand found their way to my waist as mine glued themselves around his neck. We were dancing along with all the other couples there, including Sam and Emily and Jared and Kim.

I rested my head against Jacob's chest, losing myself to my thoughts and the music.

The past two months had flown by so fast. Two weeks ago, Charlie surprised me by handing over the deed to the house so that I had full, legal control over it. He was moving to La Push to move in with Sue and so he could be the official sheriff of La Push. I was happy for Charlie since he was finally going to have his happy ending with someone that he loved.

Charlie impressed me too by taking the news about what I was and everything else so well. He had been horribly scarred when he found out about James, Victoria, Laurent, and the Volturi. That downright left him terrified, but he managed to pull through though knowing that the first three were dead. I was also protected from the Volturi because I was half-elf, plus, I had my big, strong werewolf to protect me and a coven a vampires.

Getting Charlie's things out of the house took a bit of time, but we finished it in no time. The place felt so bare an empty until Edward surprised me with new living room furniture and a new table for the kitchen. All of which I promised to pay back, but he refused to accept it since he claimed they were a wedding gift from his family. I agreed to let this slide only because I knew I had no chance of paying him back.

I would've been very lonely in the house too had Jacob not moved in with me. His massive size was enough to make me believe that a dozen more people were living in the house. And with Jacob there, Quil and Embry were there like all of the time now. It took everything I had to kick them out at night. Then I also had Seth crashing out on the couch at random times. I allowed Seth to get away with it since he was my future step-brother, well, just step-brother now.

Seth was a hyperactive ball of energy as he jumped around with one of his cousins.

I just had to laugh when I felt the cold kick in. The full moon was up now so I knew that they wouldn't be afraid to show themselves. I barely had to turn my head when I saw the Cullen Clan show up, making their way to greet Charlie and Sue. Carlisle and Esme stuck around the longest to congratulate them. The others had split up to do what they wanted to do.

Emmett and Rosalie were dancing now that far away from me. Bree was sitting at an empty table, smiling at them both. It had been quite the scandal when Rosalie and Emmett had revealed that they "adopted" Bree. But that eventually blew away since the biggest scandal was that Riley was back in town. His parents had passed away the year before and he had no other family in town, but what was most amazing was just who he was dating now.

Yes, the great cover story they gave Riley was that he was now dating Edward. I don't know how they came up with that one, but it seemed to work. Riley's bisexuality wasn't a secret and the few people that knew him were aware that Riley had a crush on Edward when he was still human, but Edward never paid him the attention.

All it took was a pair of colored contacts to keep people from asking too many questions on the change with Riley.

They were rather convincing though. I looked as Edward held onto Riley's hand as they joined everyone else on the dance floor. They wore matching suits which looked very nice on them both, giving them the Hollywood good looks. They held onto one another and danced rather close to each other. I wasn't sure just how much of it was an act though, they both looked very happy together. I could see it in the way that Edward's eyes shinned which was the same look he had when he was with me.

"Good for him," I whispered.

"What's that?" Jacob asked.

"Nothing babe," I said, smiling at him. "We need to talk to Alice though."

"You think she'll do it?" asked Jacob.

"I would be most offended if you gave the job to someone else!"

We turned around to see Alice standing behind us with Jasper at her side. Both were dressed up fabulously, looking very appropriate compared to the elegantly stunning Emmett and Rosalie. Alice and Jasper went for a more classic look, compared to their flashier siblings.

Alice was smiling as she leaned over towards me. Her eyes were practically sparkling with glee, staring at me with all their intensity. "So, are you going to ask or am I going to have to just take over?" she asked. "Come on, Rio. It's no fun for me unless you ask. I have a lot of work to do."

"Even though she already has half of it planned," interrupted Jasper. "She already knows your answer, but please humor her."

Jacob stopped me though as he placed himself in front of Alice and Jasper. For a minute there, I was expecting him to try and pick a fight with them when he began to smile. "Alice, will you please be our wedding planner?" he asked, politely. "I know it would mean so much to Rio, and I trust that you'll do a great job with it."

"I wasn't expecting this," Alice said, nodding her head, "but I'll take it. Alright, Jacob Black, I accept the offer. You won't be disappointed with what I have planned. I'm thinking something elegant like a Southern ball. Oh, I have so much to do. And Jacob, you're wearing a tuxedo for the wedding. You're not going to walk around half-naked; Rio already told me how difficult it was to get you just to wear that travesty."

"Hey, don't be insulting the groom," Jacob said, defending himself. "My bridegroom appreciates the way I am."

"You're wearing a tuxedo, Jacob Black," I said, firmly. "There is no negotiating with me."

"Fine," Jacob said, sighing. "But can the wedding at least be outdoors?"

"Perfect!" Alice said, cheerfully. "That gives me a lot more space and options. Huh, you're not that bad of a gay man, Jacob. There's a lot more diva in you then I thought there'd be."

With that said Alice took off with Jasper and still went on about what she was thinking for the wedding.

I could only shake my head as I wrapped my arms back around Jacob. Thank goodness I had Alice planning the wedding now. That meant so much less stress for me, plus, I knew that it would look fantastic with her in charge. Now, I just needed to make sure she didn't go over the top with the wedding. We could only afford so much.

Jacob twisted his arms back around me and dragged me off towards the woods. I yelled at him as he lifted me off to carry me away. I started to laugh though as we disappeared from the reception before we even got to have the cake, but at least it was after the toast so I was in the clear. Jacob carried me into the woods where no one could see us.

His lips pressed against my own as he pinned me against a tree. He kept our bodies as close together as they possibly could get, making me shake as his warmth pressed against me. I slipped my tongue into his mouth which he returned with such heat that I was growing dizzy.

I held onto Jacob, wishing that this feeling would never go away. I wanted to be able to hold onto it for the rest of my life even after we were married. I never wanted to stop loving Jacob so much, this was just so perfect.

I just can't wait until we're a real family.

I can't wait until I could spend the rest of my life with Jacob Black.


	17. Breaking Dawn I

Author's Note: Alright! So this is what I have for Breaking Dawn, there are going to be five main sections per chapter that's split up from the point of views of Rio, Jacob, Riley, Edward, and Seth (no particular order). I'm glad to be back writing for you guys! I'll try and post another chapter by the end of the week. But if that Family First/Matters/whatever-they're-called Christian group is right then the apocalypse begins on Saturday. SO if that happens, it was a pleasure writing for you all! Well, I love you all! Read and send me your reviews before the pits of Hell open up to swallow us whole!

**Reality Sets In:**

**Rio's POV**

I was way too comfortable to move an inch as I began to return to the conscious realm. Why do I always call reality the conscious realm everytime I woke up from a deep slumber? I might have a little more issues then I thought. Then again, I could just be normal, if there had been such a thing as being normal.

But despite all these stupid thoughts I had brewing in my head; I remained in the bed that I shared with my future fiancé. It was weird how so much could change in a year. I know I've probably said this before, but it was true. Pretty much everything changed since the death of Victoria and most of her newborn army. The biggest change was that I survived a year without some supernatural force from trying to kill me.

That was probably the best part though. I survived a year without almost dying, which was great! It made everything a lot more comfortable for me, knowing that I was safe for once since I had moved to Forks. It also made shuttling myself back and forth from school a breeze.

Mastering more of my Elfish abilities, I would teleport to Seattle where I went to the state university there. With help from the Cullens, we had the university convinced I was living locally though and it was all paid for by financial aid since we luckily qualify. So I spent the year finishing the rest of my basics so I could focus on my English Major. I still had no idea what I was going to do with it other then maybe writing an epic novel that would take over the country.

Since February, Jacob has been living with me in my childhood home. He had already been living here, but since he finally turned eighteen we decided to make it official. This way I couldn't legally be called a pedophile, but the age of consent was on our side though. Granted, most people thought Jacob was the pedophile since he was ridiculously larger then I was. The house was comfy though with Jake around and the other members of the Wolf Pack that liked to crash out at our place.

I chuckled in my head as I thought more about it. Seth was the biggest criminal when it came to sleeping at our home. Almost every night, I would catch Seth asleep on the living room couch. I just shook my head at my step-brother then I would get to work on making us all breakfast. I would have to make a ridiculous amount of food since the wolf boys and girl had to eat a ton each. My grocery bill was so freaking high that it was downright frightening, but I dealt with it since I had a decent enough job to pay for it.

Carlisle had got me a job at the hospital, working as a receptionist. It was an easy enough job and the pay was fairly good. It was way better then working at the police station with Charlie. I loved my father in all, but working with him was a pain in the ass. The whole me working at the police station bit ended in a month and thankfully Carlisle found a position opened in the hospital.

Lucky I was educated enough to work on some of the computer stuff. I got a minor certificate from the community college thanks to the tech classes I took at Fork High. I still have no idea how I got that web design certificate since all we did was work on Photoshop. We didn't even bother to do anything that revolved with the other programs that we were supposed to learn. Oh well, at least I knew my way around air brushing away imperfections!

The pay was decent too, which was the best part. It paid for all the utilities plus the groceries. The house had been nearly completely paid off thanks to all the income Charlie put into it. He never really spent much money since the divorce; he mostly just put his income to paying off the house and my child support. I kinda stung that Charlie never wanted to do anything for himself, but I was happy for him now since he was remarried to Sue Clearwater.

Charlie was very happy now, which made me happy. Him and Sue were getting ready to celebrate their first anniversary together, while I was getting ready to take the walk down the aisle with Jacob.

That was the strangest part about the year that passed. With each day, I was getting closer and closer to being married. Being married was something I never thought was possible, especially since I am gay. However, with all the rioting going on in the country, gay married was finally legalized back in January so now Jacob and I could be legally married. This made all the party planning easier on our wedding planner.

I finally opened my eyes as I looked to the desk pushed to the corner. There was plenty of wedding stuff on there that Alice wanted us to go over. All of it was last minute stuff that she decided to throw in that I didn't have a heart to refuse. Saying no to Alice Cullen was like kicking a puppy in the face. Wait, scratch that. Saying no to Jacob was like kicking a puppy. With Alice…it was more like asking for a death sentence.

All this wedding stuff was purely dreadful, I was so glad that I only had to deal with this once. Friends, family, and future adopted children didn't count though. This was the only wedding I will ever have because I was more than certain that Jacob and I were soulmates.

Wow…when did I start thinking that way?

Don't get me wrong, I'm madly in love with Jacob. I know that for certain, but when did I start thinking about soulmates? Just a few years ago, I thought Edward was the one who I'd spend eternity with, but that all changed. Who was the say I wouldn't walk out Jacob the first chance I had? What if I did what my mother did to Charlie to poor Jacob?

I had to squelch the though.

I couldn't think of that, it was too painful.

My hands fastened onto the bed sheets as I pulled them up to cover my bare chest. Even thinking about it made me feel horribly uncomfortable and want to rip my heart out. I could never imagine myself doing that to Jacob; I couldn't do that to him. So then why did that thought stray into my head? Was I more scared about this wedding then I was willing to confess, especially to myself?

His warm breath managed to snap me out of it though. Those hands found their way to my waist, rubbing against the skin underneath my briefs. I tried not to fall for his morning tricks, but I had to. It would be a wonderful distraction from all of those terrible thoughts that were popping up in my head. Focusing all my attention on him would make me feel a lot better. I'd be happier if I thought only about him.

Turning me to my back, I was soon pinned down by my werewolf fiancé. I looked into his chocolately, brown eyes then down his flawless, tanned skin and to the heartwarming smile plastered onto his face. He was hovering above my nearly nude body, his own naked body radiating an ungodly amount of heat due to his genetics as a werewolf. I could feel everything even though his body was just ghosting over mine.

"Have I ever told you how amazing you look in the morning?" Jacob Black whispered to me.

"Every damn morning," I said, tilting my head up to meet him for a kiss.

Jacob's lips met mine to give a simple kiss. Our lips broke apart quickly enough and soon Jacob dropped down beside me with the sheets rolling back off of his skin. I almost didn't see the point in sleeping with a blanket other then the comfort it provides. Jacob was plenty hot enough to keep us both warm at night. Then again, he worked night sometimes, patrolling around La Push and Forks to make sure that it was safe.

That was another amazing thing that happened in the past year, the Cullens and the Quileutes were fairly nice to one another.

The key word in that sentence being fairly kind, it wasn't that good of a truce.

But that was pushed aside the moment that Jacob kissed my neck. He got the right spot that made my body shiver as the nerves tingled from excitement. I shuddered from the contact, while Jacob pulled himself closer to me. His heavy hands and arms found their way onto my chest as he gently rubbed the skin on my shoulder. He looked at me with those damn, puppy dog eyes that made me weak everytime in looked into them.

I could only smile as I twisted myself around a bit. I placed my hand on top of his chest as I used his arm as a big pillow for my head. My finger tips played with his right nipple, teasing it a little so that it came up. Jacob moaned softly as I took advantage of his sensitive nipples. It was kinda funny to see him like this. Those were his weak points just like that certain spot on my neck was mine

I kissed him there before crawling on top of him, sitting up on his lap. I ran my hands down his perfect physique, admiring the muscles on his chest. His own hands made their way to my waist and held me perfectly still on his lap. Our eyes met and eventually one of his hands left my waist to take my hand so that he could play with the engagement ring on my finger.

"Can you believe it, in a week we're going to be married," Jacob said, staring at his mother's ring. "After all the shit we went through, it's finally going to happen."

"It's a lot to swallow," I said, looking at the ring too. "We've been through a lot lately, haven't we, Jake?"

"More then I'd like to think about, Rio," Jacob whispered. "I'm just happy that you chose me in the end. I don't know what I would do if I weren't yours."

"Jake…" I whispered, falling on top of him.

His arms wrapped around me as he held me as close as possible. I knew that he was serious about how lost he would be without me. Jacob could barely function when we had alienated each other from our lives. Hell, the only reason I managed to survive was because Edward was hanging around me. If it were for the Cullens then I would've fallen apart again…just like when they left. Only then, I wouldn't have Jacob around to pick up the pieces.

Damnit, Rio! Why do you always have to think these thoughts?

I tried to shake everything away as I laid my head down against Jacob's chest. I focused on the beating of his heat, listening to it so that it would relax the turmoil in my head. Even though a year had passed by us, there were still a lot of things that hadn't changed. I still thought way more then I needed to.

I allowed myself to sink deeper against my lover. He held me so tight that I almost believed that I wouldn't be able to breathe any longer. It was a nice feeling though and it kept me back in balance so where I could be comfortable with myself.

I kissed Jacob's chest before placing my head back against it. "Just one week until we're married," I reminded myself. I held onto his hand and squeezed it almost as hard as I could, but I knew he barely felt it. Jacob was far too indestructible for me to hurt without the use of my elf magic. "One more week until all of this shit is over and done with. I love Alice like a sister, but this wedding planner shit is killing me. She ain't no J-Lo."

"Wait," Jacob said, that last bit caught his attention. "If Alice is J-Lo then doesn't that mean I'm Matthew McConaughey?"

"I said she isn't J-Lo, Jake," I told him. "But…you do have the abs to pull it off."

Jacob smirked and gave off a light chuckle. "And that's what I wanted to hear!" he said, cheerfully. His hand rubbed my back as he said so. I could only shake my head at my dumb fiancé before he hugged me tighter against his body of pure muscle. "Don't worry, babe. I think you're hot too. You're like that guy from the movie you like. Umm…damn, what's it called."

"500 Days of Summer," I said, pinching his nipple.

He flinched from the pain, which turned into pleasure for the pervert. Once again, I shook my head, but he tried to make it up to me with a kiss. "Yeah, that one!" he said, kissing my forehead. "You're the cute guy who likes that psycho Summer chick."

"Joseph Gordon-Levitt," I corrected. "Glad you find me attractive."

"That's one of the many reasons I'm marrying you."

"The others?"

"Well…it doesn't hurt that you know how to cook and clean. Plus, the sex is pretty good."

"Jacob, go wake up Seth and get out of my house before I kick your ass."

Jacob could only gulp as he took my threat seriously. He quickly released me then jumped out of bed, grabbing his shorts and a shirt. He ran out of the room, literally yelling at Seth to wake up as he stormed his way down the stairs.

I gave him about a minute to get out of there with my step-brother before I killed him.

"Stupid Jacob," I whispered, falling on the mattress.

I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep to get rid of the hate I had boiling up.

* * *

**Jacob's POV**

Even though I had to drag Seth out the house before Rio could kill me, I could say that this has been a great year.

I had nothing at all I could possibly complain about. I have great friends, a good family, the love of my life, I'm done with high school, and now I'm getting ready to start a family with Rio. What more could a guy want? Heck, most guys were still trying to figure themselves out at this age, and here I was settling down with the love of my life. Didn't I already say that? Oh hell, who cares! I fucking love Ilario Swan.

Yeah, everything was just great. Even the pack managed to maintain some order despite the fact we had two extra wolves to include now. I was amazed by how filtered out the wolf gene was in the tribe. I didn't even want to think about how many people in La Push had the potential to become a werewolf. It was almost too terrifying a though.

At least I wasn't the poor bastard, Sam, who had to keep everyone in line. I am so glad I never took the job even when Mr. Alpha had offered it to me after I first phased. There was no way that I was going to be in charge of all these pups, just being a member of the pack was a head and a half. All these rules and the system itself could be frustrating at times, but I enjoyed having all of these brothers…even an extra sister.

Speaking of sisters, I want to choke Paul so badly. The little bastard imprinted on my sister, the son of a bitch! Rachel had just came back from college too after getting her degree in…damn…I forgot. I think it was Pre-Law. Anyways, Rach had barely been home for a week when Paul happened to show up to get something from dad. I was there since I still use the garage as my auto shop and I wanted to spend a little time with my sister before she took off for graduate school. The moment that dumbass laid eyes on her; I knew that he had imprinted. I personally saw that look when Jared imprinted on Kim.

I never wanted to kill someone so bad, but I left Paul alone because Rachel liked him, only because of the pull of the damn imprint. The only good thing about it was that I didn't live in the house anymore, so I couldn't complain much. Paul ate dad out of house and home, but at least he was keeping Rachel along for a while longer. I don't know what she's going to do now. I don't want her to give up on grad school because of Paul, and if that bastard truly loved her then he wouldn't make her either.

Pushing that dumbass aside, Seth and I made our way back to the safety of La Push.

The kid was fawning all over me again as I took him Sam and Emily's place so that Seth could get cleaned up and we could get fed. It was cute though the way that Seth totally idolized me and shit, but sometimes I had to admit I felt a little uncomfortable. Sometimes it felt like he was staring at me a little too hard that I almost worried about him. There was something in the boy's eyes that just worried me, but I didn't want to push to find out what it was.

If Seth needed to talk then I'd be there to listen.

When we made it to their place, Seth and I walked in to see that the rest of the pack was there. The house was big, but it was no where big enough to house all of these roid-raging werewolves that could eat an entire cow by themselves. I knew we weren't going to get anything to eat since pretty much everything was already gone, which meant there was nothing left for Emily to cook with. My stomach rumbled in response of this, I sighed just as I heard Seth's stomach rumble too.

"You owe me a big breakfast, Jake," Seth said, holding his stomach. "This wouldn't have happened if you didn't piss Rio off. What did you do to piss him off?"

"Basically told Rio that the only reason I'm marrying him is because he can cook and the sex is good," I confessed.

We were close enough to be heard by the others. As Seth just shook his head, I could hear Quil and Embry choking on the last of their orange juice. Leah just gave me an eye roll, while Sam and Emily told me to keep the bad talk to a minimum. There were too many minors in the room; we didn't want to be responsible for corrupting their young minds.

Seth was the oldest of the newbies at sixteen so we weren't too worried about him. Granted, Seth so innocent that it was damn near saint-like, but he was almost an adult so we had to give him some credit. As for the others, we couldn't say too much. Brady and Collin were next, they were like fourteen. The other two: Steven and Mitch were barely thirteen, a year younger then when Seth first phased.

The two of us managed to find chairs that weren't already in use and also got a couple pieces of toast to scarf down. We stuck around for a while just to see how the rest of the pack was doing. I listened to the progress report, giving out a grateful breath that the only parasites we had to worry about where the Cullens. Alright, I shouldn't be thinking that word. Rio would only be even more pissed at me if he knew I said that.

But I was grateful though to know that there weren't any vampires coming after my fiancé.

It was unfortunate enough that I had to trust our wedding planner in the event that a vampire was nearing the area.

I had to admit though, Alice was fairly decent for a vampire. More so then damn Edward, I could tolerate a lot more. Well, Edward wasn't so bad now that he wasn't trying to steal Rio away from me. With all the fighting done with, for now, I could actually say that Cullen was somewhat of a good guy. Not good enough for my Rio, but he wasn't a total waste of breath. At least I could understand, somewhat, why Rio had fell for him.

"So Jake," Quil said, swinging his massive arm around my neck, "one more week. It's just one more week until you take yourself off the market."

Embry jumped in next to me, elbowing me in the ribs to gain my attention. I looked over to my needy friend to see what was going through that small head of his. "How can you stand it?" he said, laughing. "Not that Rio isn't great and all, but you're so young! You need spread your sexiness around, to soil your wild oats."

"Embry," Jared said, tilting his head at him, "did you just confess to having a man crush on Jake?"

"No!" Embry said, suddenly embarrassed. His red face was proof enough of that as he slowly began to scoot away from me.

Quil just threw his napkin at Embry as he got away from us. He still had his arm on me though when his hand grabbed onto my cheeks, squeezing them a little. "You have to admit though, Jake is easy on the eyes," Quil said, laughing. "How can you say no to a sexy man like him! We so need to throw Jake a bachelor party."

"Hell yeah!" Jared said with enthusiasm.

Leah rolled her eyes at us again. I don't even want to know what scooted up her pussy and died. Everyone was well aware that she was in one of her moods and when Leah was in a mood…everyone suffers!

"Can I go!" Seth said, bouncing on his chair.

"Hell to the no kid," Paul said, reeling him back in. "No one under eighteen gets in. We don't want to corrupt your young minds."

"They've already been corrupted," said Brady.

"We already heard about what Sam does with Emily and you scoring with Rachel," said Colin.

I grabbed the nearest knife I could find and threw it at Paul's head. The sack of shit barely dodged it, Sam and Quil had to restrain me to keep me from flying off and ripping Paul to shreds. "Son of a bitch!" I shouted at him. "If you got my sister pregnant with your fucking retarded ass kid, I swear to God that I will kill you!"

"Easy Jake," Embry said, pulling me back.

I was fighting them all though, wanting to just rip Paul apart. How dare he talk about my sister in that way! They fucking imprinted yet he was acting like she was just some damn whore he picked up off the streets. I'm going to kill him! I am going to fucking kill Paul then I'm going to bring him back to life just so I can kill him again.

"It's not like that, I sware!" Paul said, trying to defend himself. "You know I love Rachel! She's the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Still going to kill you!" I shouted.

Emily interfered as she pushed Paul in the direction of the door. I already knew she was trying to help him escape, which only pissed me off. Not at her though, I could never be mad at Emily. "Run as fast as you can," she told him. "I'll try and distract him."

Paul took off immediately after that and I could already feel my anger diminish. I gave out a heavy breath as I started to relax to the point where I no longer wanted to phase and rip someone to pieces. I sat back down on the chair with everyone else returning to their seats as well. I still wanted to hurt Paul, but I felt my logic returning to me.

"You know it's going to be a good day when Jacob threatens to kill Paul!" Embry said, raising up his empty glass.

Leave it to Embry to make a violent situation worse.

I punched him in the arm just for the hell of it.

After that, I left with Seth and Leah following me out the door. I didn't like it, but Leah seemed to like hanging around me now too. To be honest, Leah wasn't as bad as everyone thought of her to be. She's only a super bitch whenever Sam is around, which I can kind of understand why. Hell, had Rio decided to be with Edward instead then I might have became the next Leah. Yipes, that was a creepy though.

Seth made me keep my promise so I took him to the nearest diner for breakfast. Leah chose to continue following us, but I refused to pay for anything she ate since I owed her nothing! As a courtesy though, I did buy her a coffee.

We sat at the table and talk about the upcoming wedding plus our plans afterwards.

There wasn't much of a plan, I had to admit.

All I knew was that when the Fall starts that I was gonna go to trade school while Rio would continue working on his degree. I had gotten a job at a garage and I do a couple of odd jobs here and there, but there wasn't much I could do without my certificates. I was only going through the formal program so I could get my license to be a mechanic even though I already knew everything and anything there was to know about a damn car.

We were still trying to figure out what we were going to do for the rest of our lives. It's not like we had any reason to rush though since we were both still young. There was plenty of time for us to figure out a career. It's not like we were having a kid or anything. I didn't have to worry about that since Rio was born with a penis instead of a vagina.

"You're a complete idiot," Leah said, taking a sip from her coffee.

I dropped my pancake and gave her an insulted look. "Why do you say that?" I asked. I grabbed my syrup coated pancake just as the waitress came back with the second plate. I ordered about two orders of their big breakfast, while Seth just stuck with an extra order of pancakes. Hm, maybe I should ask for another order of pancakes.

Leah brushed her hair to the side before straightening herself up. This should be good. Whenever Leah got that serious look on her face then that could only mean one thing, you were about to get a serious earful. "You're rushing into this marriage," she said, calmly. "I don't doubt the feelings you have for each other, but I worry because of what we are. What would happen if you imprint on someone? What's going to happen to Rio?"

"You shouldn't say things like that, Leah," Seth said, softly. "It's not nice."

I could only shake my head at Seth before looking back at Leah. "She's right though," I said, sadly. "It's something I'm honestly terrified about. I don't want to imprint on anyone, I don't want to lose Rio. But I have to have faith though that Rio and I will be able to make it through this. This wedding is going to happen and we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. Nothing will get in the way of that."

Leah smirked as she pushed her empty cup of coffee aside. She leaned in real close to me, the serious look still burned onto her once pretty face. It was weird how a long time ago I actually though Leah was pretty. Now, she's just a mean, old crabby lady who wants to make everyone else as miserable as her. That was a little harsh. I need to ease up on these mean thoughts of mine. I need to find a way to distress about this wedding.

"For both of your sakes, I hope you can keep that promise, Jake," said Leah. "I don't want what happened with me, Sam, and Emily have to happen to anyone else. No one should have to go through that pain."

Wow…Leah was actually concerned about someone else.

I was touched, moved by the sincerity in her voice.

I could only pray that I could keep me promise because I never, ever want to see Rio hurt.

"Well, aren't we just one big happy family!" cheered Seth. "See, we can all be nice when we want to."

"We all know how to act civilized, Seth," Leah corrected.

"Don't read too much into it," I said, nudging him.

Seth just frowned at us, returning to the half a stack of pancakes he had left.

* * *

**Seth's POV**

By now, I was so full that I could barely move. Jacob ditched me and Leah to go back to Forks for some wedding stuff. I said goodbye to Jacob, while Leah barely waved at him. With him gone, I sighed softly as I followed Leah back to our place.

Leah was leading the way and was silent as usual. That gave me the perfect opportunity to start thinking about the coming wedding. I wasn't against it or anything, but it just kind of sucked in a way. I liked Jacob, a lot, but I knew that there was no way in Hell I'd ever have a chance in the world with him. I've already accepted that, but that didn't stop me from fantasizing about him in my head.

Yeah, I'm gay too, but I kept so well hidden that nobody knew. I even tried to date a few girls so that no one wouldn't be suspicious of my orientation. I just wish I didn't have to be so afraid of hiding, but I know how most of the pack really feels about gay people. The only reason they aren't saying anything to Jacob is because he is the true Alpha of the pack. Sorry Sam, but Jacob can takeover whenever he wants. And if that day comes then the others would be screwed if they made enemies with the true Alpha.

Things wouldn't be so easy on me if I ever brought back a guy. At least my family would be supportive of me. Mom and Leah would be happy just to know that I found someone who makes me happy. Plus, Charlie would totally be supportive! He has Rio so he knows what to, more or less, expect when raising a gay son. It wasn't like I'd be dating any werewolves or vampires, so any guy I'd get would more than likely be human.

Speaking of supernatural creatures, I envied Rio so badly. I loved my new step-brother, he was the greatest guy in the world, but I envied the free life he got to have. He got the chance to date two amazing and hunky guys. He's been sexually involved with them. Sometimes...I'm ashamed to say this, but I dream that I'm Rio. I dream that I'm him while Jacob and/or Edward is having sex with him/me. I've woken up plenty of times with sticky sheets because of that.

I had to laugh at myself, in my head of course. I guess that's why I always slept over at their place. I was hoping that I might hear them have sex one night, which they never did since I guess they respected the fact I was there. But the other reason I stayed there was because I could get away from La Push to somewhere that I didn't need to hide so much. I could be more like my true self, not the boy that everyone wanted to see.

Like yeah, I'm still naturally that happy-go lucky kid that's so bubbly and loveable. That's just embedded in my personality, but there is more to me then just that. I want to have a romantic relationship, I want to have a true love who'll be there for me. I want him to hold me, to love me…just a kiss would be nice.

A kiss would change everytime.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!"

I snapped out of my thoughts to see that Leah was already at down the road. I quickly ran to catch up to her before she could start yelling at me some more. That's the thing I hate about Leah, she is just so mean and bossy that it's no wonder she hasn't found a guy yet. Not that I would say that to her though since she would totally kill me before she went sulking off into the sunset to hang herself.

I didn't want to reopen all those wounds that Sam left behind.

I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I don't see why I should stay being miserable either.

We made it to the house where I saw Charlie's cruiser parked in the driveway with Rio's truck parked on the curve. Our two-story home had changed a lot in the past two years. I kinda felt guilty about being happy without dad in our lives. I felt ashamed, like I was forgetting him with everyday that passed and that made me want to cry.

It took everything I had to remind myself that dad wouldn't want to see any of us miserable. He would want us to be happy no matter what that meant. But we couldn't forget about him, I couldn't forget about my dad.

This didn't feel right still…how easy it was for us to all just move on after dad's death.

All these distractions were to blame, I guess. It didn't give us much time to reflect on dad. That was more true for mom and Leah though. Mom had all these new responsibilities as a member of the council, while the pack actually allowed Leah to do stuff. As for me, I was just left sitting in my bedroom, wallowing in the loss.

And there was no one there to listen to my pain, I was there for everyone else but no one was there for me.

Why am I thinking of all this depressing stuff? Snap out of it, Seth! You're still young. I still have plenty of time to find true love and at the rate that everyone in the pack is going, I should find someone! Well…I'll at least find someone before Leah does.

I jumped into the house with my bubbly thoughts back in play. Leah and I showed up just in time to see Rio sitting on the couch with Charlie and mom. There were some clothes laid on the loveseat that were completely covered up by the casing. I heard a light gasp escape Leah as she went over to the mini pile on the furniture.

"My dress is in here, is it?" Leah asked, excitedly.

"Yup!" Rio said, cheerfully. "Yours is on the top. Seth, yours is in the middle. Mine is at the bottom. Alice just gave them to me so that we can try them on that way they can still be fixed if there's any alterations that are needed."

Leah grabbed her dress and swung it over her shoulder. She was smiling with glee that it seemed so out of character for her. "I'll try this on then!" she said, before running up to her room.

I grabbed my suit and followed her lead as I went up to my room. I heard Charlie tell Rio to change in their room too. I had gotten myself dragged into a dress up party, but I couldn't complain since I was dying to see what I would look like in the tux.

Closing my bedroom door behind me, I quickly stripped out of what I was wearing. I unzipped the massive zipper to fish my badass tux out. I was smiling as I looked at the white suit, the light-blue bowtie, and the matching vest. It looked so perfect already that I couldn't wait until I put it on me so I could see how it really worked.

Leah and I were honored that Rio asked us to be part of his wedding party. Jacob chose Embry and Quil to be his best men, naturally. Leah was the maid of honor and I was…we didn't have an official title for me. Haha, I think they consider me the bro of honor. It's cool though, Rio and Jacob didn't exactly have an official title. We considered Jacob to be the groom, but Rio kinda revived the term bridegroom to refer to him. So maybe I'm like the bridegroom's best man?

Hey, I kinda like that!

Well, at least I could see why Leah was so giddy about it. Granted, she was involved with Sam and Emily's wedding, but that was a bit more insulting to her. Although she'd never admit it, Leah actually liked Rio and was a big time supporter of the gays. Yup, my sister is defiantly a fag hag.

Anyways, getting back to the real world, I finished putting my tux on for the big day.

I stepped out of my bedroom just in time to see the back of Leah's dress. Her back was exposed as a few light blue straps covered the skin. From what I could tell from the back, the dress fit perfectly fine, but the front might not be so flattering. I just had to assume that since Leah was screaming in disgust that the dress must look great on her.

I followed my sister down the stairs to show off to our mom and step-dad.

"My God!" Mom said, her hands covering her mouth. "You both look so amazing! Leah, you're so beautiful. And Seth, my little Seth, you look so grown and handsome!"

"The color agrees with you both," said Charlie. "Then again, what do I know about fashion."

"Just keep complimenting us," Leah said, turning to look at me. I finally got to see what the rest of her dress looked like. As weird as this was to say, my sister looked totally amazing in her dress. She was a real beauty with the way the dress complimented her figure in every way possible. She was smiling at me as she went up to me, fixing my collar a little. "Mom's right. You do look so grown, even with your baby face."

I couldn't fight the urge to smile as I pushed her in the arm. "You look pretty dang good yourself, sis," I said, jokingly.

She rolled her eyes at me, but kept her smile when we heard a cough.

We all looked up the stairs to see Rio coming down the staircase. He was wearing a white tuxedo like I was, but his colors were different. They were, according to the badass Alice, a masculine shade of pink. He wore a pink vest and a pink bowtie. His tux had a more vintage look to it, but it went well with his personality and it complimented his thin physique too.

I was all the more jealous of Rio as I looked at him, finally seeing how he snagged the attention of two of the hottest guys in the world.

He looked so beautiful.

"Wow," Charlie said, purely speechless.

"I'm jealous," said Leah. "You're hair is a mess yet you still look better than I do."

Rio just shook his head as he walked closer towards us. He stood in the middle between me and Leah with a smile on his face. "Don't feel so bad, Leah," he said, pointing to her chest. "Your girls will steal plenty of looks away from me. All the single, straight guys will be ogling at your goodies."

"Now I feel better."

Rio turned to me know, his hand ran down the front of my chest. His touch felt so soft. I don't know how, but I swore that I could feel it even through my tux. "Wow, Seth," he said, smiling. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were Jacob's younger brother. You look so much like him when he was younger. The only difference is that you're not quite as tall as he was."

"Thanks Rio," I said, not bothering to hide the blush on my face. He actually thought I looked like Jacob! Wow, I actually feel so much better about myself then I ever thought possible. Maybe I will stand a chance at finding an amazing guy now if I looked just half as good as Jacob does. "You look amazing too, Rio. Jake's a lucky man"

Rio's smile grew as he hugged me for a moment.

He thanked us all for everything before going back upstairs to change back into his clothes. Leah and I followed behind him to change too so we can give the clothes back to Alice. The lady vampire/wedding planner was in charge of keeping the clothes safe until the big day.

I had to convince Rio to take me to the Cullen's house later so I could see what the beautiful immortals thought. I liked the Cullens a lot, I don't see why everyone else in the pack hates or hated them so much. They're good people even if they're part of the undead community. They treated me pretty good even though I was a werewolf, their natural enemy.

Anyways though, I snapped out of that thought as I got out of the tux and put my regular clothes back on.

Man, I just can't wait until the wedding next week!

* * *

**Riley's POV **

We were always so cold that was just part of our undead nature. We looked like perfection, but all we were just monsters underneath it all. We could only be killers, it was a lie to try and trick our nature into being something we could never be.

At least that's how I thought of everything when we first joined the Cullen Clan.

Victoria had my mind so warped. I was just her puppet, a means to have her revenge on those who killed her mate. She used all of us and she made us do such horribly horrific things to innocent people. She used us to make an army of monsters then had us feed on all those who weren't good enough for battle. We lived a life in the shadows, creating nothing but havoc in the world.

I felt stupid for falling for all of her tricks. A year was nowhere near enough time to recover from the scars she left on me. That damn bitch had me so convinced that what we had was real, that it was special. Ugh, I hate that all of that had to happen. But most importantly, I hate that I had to destroy my best friend because of her orders.

I wrapped my arm over Bree's shoulder, pulling her closer to my chest. She was adjusting to this third lease on life better then I was. It was difficult for her when she became a vampire, but at least she demonstrated more control than the other newborns like I did. She enjoyed the Cullen's company and shined at the newest daughter, while I was a mess. We were as close as could be expected in the army, but we both had someone that we were exceptionally close to.

His name was Diego, he was my best friend. I thought of him as my brother and he…he was Bree's mate. I felt horrible as I thought more about the day. Victoria had us all convinced that we could never set foot in sunlight that all of the legends about our kind were true. Diego and Bree learned that it was all bullshit though and when Diego talked to us about it…

Damn, I should've never allowed Victoria to convince me to destroy him. I should've never believed her that Diego was endangering our "family" by knowing the truth. Even when Diego promised that he'd never tell anyone, he even covered for Bree, Victoria still wasn't convinced. I was so blinded by her tricks that I followed her orders and ended the life of my best friend, of my brother.

Bree lost her mate though…

She didn't blame me though, she could only blame Victoria for all the damage she did to us all. It was amazing how she was able to adjust to all of this. She didn't turn to revenge like Victoria did. She was above all of that. She was more of an angel then a vampire. It was no wonder that the Cullens welcomed her with such open arms. It wasn't that easy for me though. I had a lot more work to do on the road to sainthood.

"What do you think about the wedding?" Bree asked me. "You want to go? We do owe our lives to Rio. Those creeps from the Volturi would've killed us if he hadn't defended us."

"Yet he's also the reason why we were turned in the first place," I reminded Bree. "But…I don't know. I want to go. I just don't know if it would be right for us to go. It's especially weird since I'm masquerading as the boyfriend to the groom's ex-boyfriend."

"That would be a little awkward," Bree laughed, "but less of an issue though. We're all invited to the wedding. It would be rude to say no."

"A little, I guess," I sighed.

I shrugged as I released Bree and started my climb up the stairs. I left her alone with the mindless drabble that was going on the reality TV show she liked so much. I chose to go into Carlisle's study to go over the medical textbooks he had. The reading would be a distraction from everything, especially from all my thoughts.

It would help me to keep hold of the humanity that was left in my heart.

My future was so cloudy, I doubt that even Alice could see a possible path for me. I really don't know what I could do with the rest of my eternal existence. What was there for me to do? I'm completely on my own in this world, even with the Cullens pretending to be my family. It wasn't what I wanted though, nowhere near what I wanted. Not even the pretend feelings I had for Edward helped. No, they weren't pretend. I liked him. No, I don't like him. No…I just don't know anymore.

I just wanted to find my way through all of this.

"What can I do though?" I said, holding the textbook in my hands.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

The minute I parked the car into the driveway, I could feel Riley's pain radiating from the house. His thoughts were screaming with anguish that I actually lost my balance for a moment. I grabbed onto the Volvo's hood until I could recover from the psychic shocks. Bree was the only other person in the house, everyone else was busy doing their own thing.

I nodded my head and went into the house. Bree was too focused on the TV to pay much attention to me so I walked passed her to go upstairs to Carlisle's study. I opened the door to see Riley sitting on the floor with a textbook laid on his lap. The pain was all the more intense now that I was in the room with him. The look in his eyes spoke with so much pain that I wondered if this was just the beginning of how Rio felt when I walked away from him.

I wasn't about to let someone else suffer so much, not without trying to help them. I didn't want to let what happened to Rio happen to anyone else. No one deserves to suffer from so much pain. I hurt too much to watch without trying to do something about it.

When I got closer, Riley turned his head around and I could really see the pain. The mental waves and the physical expression made me flashback to one moment. I could see Rio collapsing as I tried to convince him that I no longer loved him. The same, soul-shattering pain that nearly killed Rio had grabbed hold of Riley next. I felt like an utter failure as I saw this, I could've prevented this suffering if I had just paid more attention.

"You want to talk?" I asked Riley.

"Not really."

"Your thoughts say otherwise," I told him. I sat down on the ground beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. The thoughts in his head seemed to calm some, but a lot of pain was still bleeding out of him. "I can hear everything you're thinking. The pain is flowing from you like a tidal wave."

"Gee, thanks," he said, sarcastically. "I didn't know I was in so much pain. You're so insightful for a mind reader."

"Just like Rio," I said, shaking my head. "Your sarcasm is your greatest weapon."

"Why do you want to go to Rio's wedding?" he asked, loudly. "He's your ex-boyfriend and his husband-to-be hates your guts. Why would you want to put yourself through all of that?"

That wasn't something I was expecting to hear. All of those thoughts didn't point to that, at least until now. His thoughts started to think about my relationship with Rio. I didn't understand why he was so curious until now though.

He had a lot of thoughts about me. He didn't want to fake everything between us for the public eye, he wanted something real. Even I wanted to have something real. I felt so alone since Rio decided Jacob was the one for him. Not that I could blame him for wanting Jacob, he chose life over death.

I pulled myself away to focus back on Riley.

"This is closure that we both need," I said to him. "Well, I need the closure more than he does."

"So it's just for closure then," he said, shaking his head. "You're so full of shit, Edward. You love him and can't let him go."

Riley got up from the floor and walked away, dropping the book on the ground.

I turned around, wanting to stop him, but held myself back because all I felt was jealousy coming from his thoughts.

He was gone now. I couldn't feel anymore pathetic about it. My heart broke for him as I realized just how much pain he was in. I had to save him. I shook my head when I found myself springing to my feet to run after him. Thanks to my age and experience, I easily caught up to Riley before he could get too far away and grabbed onto his arms.

He latched onto me, the last of his newborn strength trying to keep me away. I refused to give in though as I tightened the grip I had on his arms. "I want to let him go," I told Riley. "I want to be able to move on from Rio, but I need a little time. I like you, Riley, I really do. Just give me a little more time."

The thoughts in Riley's heads were running all the more wild now. But I could see one thought that made me feel. I could hear the small flicker of hope that there was a chance. There might be a second chance for the both of us.

"Don't expect me to wait forever though," Riley whispered, finally releasing me.

I let him go too, letting him walk away but not without catching a faint smile on his face.

Maybe I could love another now…maybe there was a chance for me yet, for the both of us.


	18. Breaking Dawn II

Author's Note: SURPRISE! I got the next chapter in before the apocalypse! WOOHOO! Now you can read the wedding before the world ends, go me! If the world doesn't end then I plan on celebrating by buying "Born This Way" on Monday (Hint hint, my birthday so you really need to review) and having an orgy with some hot gay guys! Haha. Let's see if I can get some. Anyways, I love this chapter. I adore this chapter. I can totally say that it's one of my favorites. Its a little longer then the last one and I expanded a little more on Riley and Edward's POVs too. Well that's it for me folks. Read and review. P.S. I don't own any of the songs in this chapter! Hehe.

**The Stars Speak to Us:**

**Seth's POV**

Let's see, it only took a year but today Jake and Rio were finally going to get married!

I was bouncing up and down at the edge of my seat for the big day to begin. Leah and I crashed out at Rio's place, while Jake was banished to his old home. We were trying to keep some of the wedding traditions like keeping the happy couple apart for the big day. Jake had his bachelor party last night; I wanted to go because I was dying to see what Quil and Embry had planned. I couldn't go though so I ended up going to Rio's party which was cool since Edward and the rest of the Cullens showed up and all of Rio's friends from school.

That was a fun night, but not the wild and crazy one that Jake and the other guys from the pack probably had. I still enjoyed myself though; Esme baked this delicious cake that made me think I died and went straight to Heaven. She thought it was hilarious when I told her and she even promised to bake me one for my next birthday so SCORE!

Anyways, now that it was morning, we were all fighting to get ready. I woke up from my comfy spot on the couch just in time to see Rio running around with Leah following him. I knew those two would be fighting for the bathroom upstairs so I went down to the basement where the cheap, second mini bathroom was. It was basically a tiny shower, a toilet, and a sink. I couldn't wait until they seriously go to work on fixing up the basement since they were already aware that they would need extra space.

Apparently Rio had some vision about future, adopted children last year so that meant I was going to be an uncle!

Yup, today was going to be a good day for all of us! I could already feel it in my cheery bones as I made my way into the tiny shower. I cleaned myself well before getting out to dry myself off. Leah was already screaming at me to hurry up, but I wasn't exactly in a rush. Unlike her, I was born with a penis so it would only take me five minutes to get ready. Well, ten minutes since I actually had to look a little better than normal.

I'm going to stick to the basement where it's safe from Rio and Leah fighting over bathroom/mirror time. I even whistled a cheery, little tune as I put on a plain t-shirt and my short boxers. Well, they were more briefs-like then boxers since they fit super tight and short. I think the appropriate term was trunks, but I don't think I'll quote myself with that one.

With all of that taken care of, plus my teeth were all sparkly clean now. I ran back upstairs to put on my super, snazzy tuxedo. I fished it out from the closet just as the house phone began to ring like crazy. Rio and Leah yelled at me to answer it like I was their damn butler or something. I only rolled my eyes, letting this one slide since it was Rio's big day. I would get Leah back later like any good, younger brother would, hehe.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"Seth, its mom."

No duh, mom. I think after sixteen years, I would recognize your voice by now. Not that I was actually going to say that out loud because my mother would kick my ass. Just because I'm a big, bad werewolf doesn't mean that I'm too badass not to get my ass kicked by mommy.

"Yeah, ma?" I asked. "Are you and Charlie on your way here?"

"Yes," mom said, cheerfully. "We'll be there in about twenty minutes. Are you all almost ready?"

"I'm just getting dressed. I need to brush my hair a little then I'm done! I don't know about your daughter or step-son though."

"Well, go help Rio finish, sweetie. That should give Leah a little more time to focus on getting herself ready."

"Alright then, see you in a while, mom."

"Bye hun."

The line went dead and I hung the phone up before placing it back on the receiver. I quickly hoped into my pants, zipping them up with a light smile on my face now. I hurried to button up my shirt and buttoned the vest up. I had my bowtie in hand, unable to remember just how I was supposed to get this damn thing on. I knew I should've never undone it since Rio gave it to me all pretty and fixed so I just need to squeeze my big head through it.

I scolded myself for a second before running up the stairs. Rio would help me out, he wouldn't want me to look ratty on his big day. I mean, he did force Jacob into wearing a tuxedo for the wedding even though Jake was like dead-set against it. We wolves preferred to have as little clothing as possible since we radiated an ungodly amount of body heat. Well, the others like to be as naked as possible. I always like to have a t-shirt on at all times, mostly because I was nowhere near as ridiculously, washboard abed muscle gods.

Anyways, I quickly ran up the stairs and passed by Leah who was busy curling her short hair. I ignored her, pushing Rio's bedroom door open to be the bridegroom for assistance. I walked inside in to see that Rio was sitting on his bed, barely dressed with a vacant look in his eyes. Immediately, I felt my stomach curl up uncomfortably as I looked at my step-brother. He was practically motionless as he sat there like a perfect statue.

"You're not having a vision, are you?" I asked, closing the door behind me.

Rio only shook his head just as a tear began to run down his pale cheek. That couldn't be a good sign, at least that's what my stomach was telling me the moment I sat down beside him. I couldn't believe that Rio was still lounging around in his underwear when he should be done and getting his hair all pretty. I worried for him as that vacant look started to drown me into its petrifying depths.

"Please tell me you're not having second thoughts, Rio!" I asked, strongly. "You and Jake are like made for each other."

"I'm not so sure that's true, Seth," Rio whispered. "If that were true then he would've imprinted on me, but that hasn't happened. That means there's someone else out there, the true someone he should be with."

"That's just pre-wedding jitters, right."

"Seth."

I shook my head at him, refusing to listen at this point. I just threw my arms around Rio and held onto him as tightly as I could without my superhuman strength crushing the life from him. I buried my face against his t-shirt, refusing to let him give up at this point.

"You can't give up, Rio," I told him. "I know that you and Jake are perfect for each other. I believe in the love that you two have because…because I want to be loved like that. I want someone like Jacob to take care of me. I want to be in love, to marry someone as amazing as him."

My mind was shot when I realized that I basically confessed to my step-brother that I was gay. There was no way I could take that back either because of the way I described my dream, significant other being someone like Jacob Black. Yup, there was no way I was going to be able to put Pandora back into her box now. It was out there, I was (sort of) out of the closet.

But while I was panicking, a pair of arms snapped me out of it. Rio was hugging me back with a soft smile on his face now as he looked down at me. I couldn't help but to smile back at him as I saw for myself that everything was going to be all better now. He wasn't a nervous fit anymore and I wasn't suffocating myself by keeping myself cramped in a closet.

Rio pulled away from me though and placed one of his hands on the side of my face. His smile was so warm that I couldn't help but to be lost in his eyes. "You are the sweetest thing I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, Seth Clearwater," he said, softly. "Don't you ever change a bit." I couldn't fight my urge to keep smiling, but he leaned in and kissed my lips. For a minute, my entire body froze as I just got kissed by my step-brother. I knew this wasn't for romantic reasons, but I couldn't help but to feel freaked.

"He's out there," Rio said, suddenly like the kiss never happened.

"Who is?" I asked, still confused.

"Your Jacob," he said, smiling.

Rio got up from his bed and held a hand out to me. "Come on, we need to finish getting ready for my wedding," his voice was stronger now. It was like all those insecurities he had only a few minutes before melted away into oblivion. He was back being cheerful about his big day with the ceremony only two more hours away from now.

I obeyed Rio as I jumped from the bed so he could help me out. He fixed my bowtie for me, fixing it so that it was perfectly even in just a few seconds. After that was taken care of, he got halfway dressed and we tried to work on his hair. Well, Rio did most of the work again on that one. He brushed his hair until it was perfectly even, parted to the side neatly without his bangs touching his forehead.

"You kinda look like Kurt Hummel," I said, laughing.

"Then I'll take that as a compliment," Rio said, laughing back at me.

The two of us finished getting ready just as Charlie and mom showed up. Leah managed to finish at the same time that our parents showed up. Time was running against us though as we finished getting everything else that needed to be done put together. That alone took another hour and was pushing the time to get Rio to his own wedding on time.

We had to rush out of the door, down to the park where we would have the ceremony before it was too late.

We were only halfway there when Charlie's cruiser decided to die on us.

"Not…today," Rio said, dropping his head on my shoulder.

"I'll call Rosalie," I said, taking out my phone.

"This can't be happening today!" Rio shouted into the sky.

I was already dialing the glamazon vampire, while watching as Charlie tried to calm Rio down. It was a little funny to watch like a bad, wedding comedy, but with the exception of this being real life so I kept my laughing to a minimum. I just looked away and waited until Rosalie finally picked up before I began to beg her for assistance.

She assured me that she was on her way right now.

At least that was one crisis to be averted. Even if Rose didn't fix the car, she was an awesome mechanic so I didn't doubt her, then she'd at least bring a larger car. She already knew that it was all of us so she'd probably snag a truck or a Suburban or something equally big and shinny. I was kind of hoping that the Cullens had like a Hummer limo all suited up and ready to go.

Then again that would just be a major waste of gas and Mother Earth deserved better then to have her lungs clogged up like that.

"Are we going to be rescued?" Leah asked.

"Yes," I said, nodding my head. "Rosalie is on her way."

"Well, thank God for the leech," Leah said, slightly rude.

"Leah!" Rio practically growled.

My sister just nodded her head, but didn't bother to apologize.

I only sighed as I tried not to pay attention to any of this. There was still a lot of hate in the pack when it came to the Cullens. Granted, our relations have improved considerably since the newborn army attack, but we weren't best friends just yet.

I kept out of Rio chewing Leah out as I sat in the Cruiser with my mom and Charlie.

My money was on Rio, he had cool supernatural powers that would totally put Leah in her place for a chance.

Rio was the only remarkable soul that wasn't afraid of Leah. Now that I really think about it…we need to find my sister a man so that hopefully she'll be a little nicer. But that was a problem for another day, today we needed to focus on getting Rio to his wedding on time!

* * *

**Riley's POV**

There was no doubt in what was left of my heart that I shouldn't be here. I felt tragically uncomfortable as I crammed into this designer suit that Alice bought me for the wedding. The wedding…it was wrong for me to be here, to be around all of these humans. I'm a vampire, a newborn which makes it worse. What was to stop me from trying to feed on one of them as I had done in the past?

Oh right, Edward was supposed to keep me grounded. He was supposed to keep me leveled down so I wouldn't go on any rampage. Nobody was worried about Bree. Even though she far younger then I was, she was in perfect control of her bloodlust. The thirst wasn't as strong to he as it was or me. I am the only supernatural hazard that was at the wedding today, even the wolves were better at keeping control then I was.

The day was beautiful, but enough clouds were around the sky to prevent us from being exposed. It kept us monsters from being exposed to the humans.

"I shouldn't be here," I told Edward for the hundredth time that day.

We were at the park now, putting the finishing touches to the ceremony. The wolf pack from La Push was here, including the famous groom, Jacob Black. They were all working together with the Cullens all so willingly that I could only see it as being horribly disturbing. Vampires and werewolves shouldn't be so close to each other like this, especially since our scent horribly bothered each other.

"Don't worry," Edward told me, "the wolves will behave. None of us want to ruin Rio and Jacob's wedding."

The pure confidence that oozed from his musical voice was like butter on warm bread. It just melted so smoothly and it tasted so good at least to the ears. Even his perfect, marble tough face spoke with such certainty. He looked utterly perfect in the suit that he wore from a designer whose name I couldn't even pronounce.

I knew that I probably looked almost equally as amazing, but still so flawed. I was nothing compared to the elder vampire, I was just a child compared to him.

"That's not what I meant and you know that," I told him.

Edward only sighed before pulling me aside. We walked towards an empty part of the park, away from the chairs that Alice had beautifully decorated. Emmett and Jasper were working with some of the wolves to put together the archway then the canopy for the reception. I had to look away from them all to focus my attentions on the mind reader.

He should be able to see how much pain I was in already. Nobody was here, but I could feel so much conflicting emotions boiling in within my chest. I had no control of it any of it too. I prided myself for my remarkable control over my bloodlust, but this was something different. I couldn't contain the mental struggle that was going on in the rest of my body. My control over the one thing I knew how to was waning as the day moved on.

The look in his eyes said it all. I could see the pity in them, which only infuriated me more to the point where I just had to get away. He wouldn't allow me to budge an inch though as he fastened onto my wrist and pulled me back towards him.

"I won't give in like I did last week," I said, sharply. "You're not the only one who needs some closure. I'm falling apart, Edward. I have no idea what I'm doing. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, what path I'm supposed to be on. This is not the life I wanted for myself, this is not what I wanted."

Arms took hold of me as I broke apart like a pathetic child. Then again that's what I was. I had regressed from being a young adult in the human world to a toddler in the vampire world. The cruel cycle of life had begun yet again for me, but in such a more vicious way then it already was. This life was just an insult, a negative reflection of how things should be.

"None of this wanted this life, Riley," Edward said to me, softly. "It was given to us…to escape death. I can't promise that this new life will get any easier for you or that you'll find your way, but I can promise this. I will help you find a new future for yourself, Riley, no matter how long that it takes. You will have me there with you, every step of the way. Not just me either, the rest of us will be there for you as well."

"Don't make promises that you can't keep," I said, weakly. "Promises…Victoria made me a lot of promises."

"She was only using you, don't forget that," he said, firmly. "Riley, you are part of our family now. We will take care of you like a good family is supposed to. In time, I'm certain that you'll see us as your second home."

I wanted to believe him, I really did, but I just don't know how.

He only nodded his head at me, hugging me once more for a moment. He then left to rejoin the others in the preparations for the ceremony. I watched as he left and saw how he went to Jacob, helping the man that was marrying his former reason for living. The both managed to get along so well even though Rio was nowhere to be seen to keep them in line.

What was all of this?

How could any of this be happening?

"Life is funny," Alice said, showing up beside me. She looked simply radiated in the silver dress she wore. It blended with her figure perfectly in such a way that not even Rosalie's raw beauty could compete with something so pure. "To think, almost two years ago, Jacob and Edward almost killed each other to be with Rio. Now, look at all of us. I can see into the future, but not even I could imagine anything like this could happen. This was the last thing that I ever expected to see."

"What do you see in my future?" I asked her.

"You shouldn't be alive," Alice said, bluntly. "You would've died had Rio not healed you, Bree would've joined you too had he not intervened with the Volturi. It's amazing how Rio can seem to defy everything single vision I've ever had. He always comes back, stronger than ever." She shook her head with a light chuckle escaping her. She wrapped her arm around mind and rested her head against my arm. "But I digress, you asked me to see into your future. I'll tell you what I see, Riley Biers. I see the potential for you to be very happy so long as you don't let your pain swallow you whole. Just keep a focus on your light and you'll find what you're looking for. And with any luck, your fate will intertwine with his."

As usual, the cryptic psychic left me with more questions than answers as she walked towards Jasper. The moment they came into contact, the two shared a blissful kiss that made me clench onto my chest to control my jealously. Everytime I tried to get some answers from Alice, she only left me with riddles. She did this to no one else, only to me.

I just wanted to have a little understanding, but all I knew was more confusion.

"Riley!" Bree said, running towards me.

I was pulled away from my thoughts as I looked to her. She was wearing a violet colored dress, the same shade that Rosalie and Emmett were wearing. The only difference between hers and Rosalie's dresses was in the cutting. Bree's dress had its straps and was cut to fit a more, girlish figure and went down in waves below her waist. She looked like a little princess, I couldn't help but to smile as she reached out for my hand.

"People are starting to show up and we still need to get the canopy up," said Bree. "Carlisle wants you to help them put it up before the ceremony starts. They still need to put up the reception tables too. Damn, we still have a lot of shit to do."

"Don't use bad language," I said, sounding like my mother. "It's unbecoming of a beautiful, young lady."

Bree smiled at me as she tugged on my hand some more. I stumbled forward a bit, she used her superhuman strength against me now. "Save the flattery for someone else, Riley," she said, laughing at me. "Maybe you should try those sweet moves on a certain piano-playing, bronze haired, Greek God."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Bree."

"Please, we all know you want to get in Edward's pants."

I would've clocked her in the head had she not been right. I did want to have something more with Edward, something that I knew I couldn't have anytime soon. I hushed those thoughts though because they were too painful to think of right now.

I just did as I was told. I helped Carlisle and the others in putting the canopy up so that we would have a covered area for the reception. The catering company that Alice hired would take care of the tables and everything else while we enjoyed the ceremony. I tried not to think of how strange it was that the Cullens were covering a lot of the costs for a wedding that wasn't theirs.

Well, correction, Alice was paying for everything since she was a psycho wedding planner.

Damn Alice, why couldn't she just give me a clearer hint of what was supposed to go on. I just want to have a clear sign of what I was supposed to do, of just who I was supposed to be! I have no idea what I'm doing here. I'm so lost. I'm completely out of my element and broken by all the shit that's happen to me since becoming a member of the undead community.

But who's fate was I meant to intertwine with? Was there even a chance that it was possible for Edward and I to be together? Could there ever be a future for two, heartbroken vampires to find a third chance at life?

My introspection was ruined when I felt a hand clasp onto mine. His cool scent rushed into my senses as I looked to see that it was Edward holding onto my hand. His angelic smile pushed through all the clouds that were building in my head for a moment so that I lost focus on reality. For a moment, I felt as if we were the only two people left in the world.

"Let's go sit," Edward whispered to my ear.

I nodded my head as I followed him down the aisle towards our seats.

* * *

**Jacob's POV**

"Can someone tell me where Rio is!" I said, barely containing the power of my voice.

We were just ten minutes away now before the ceremony could begin. Today, I would be married to the greatest boy in all of the world, but my future husband was nowhere to be seen. I heard nothing from anyone about where he might possibly be or if something might have happened to him. Or worse…what if he decided that he didn't want to marry me and pulled a runaway bride?

Nobody was telling me anything either. I tried talking to the Cullens about it since I figured that he might have at least told them something about why he was late. Damn Alice for forcing me to lock away my phone so I wouldn't be distracted. I can't believe she seemed to forget just how accident prone my Rio was, his life was almost in jeopardy every five minutes! The only thing I know is that he was with Seth, Leah, Sue, and Charlie.

Shit! What if something happened to all of them?

Then I had to deal with this damn, hot ass tuxedo that was irritating the hell out of me with the tie suffocating me.

"Relax Jake," said Rachel.

Rachel squeezed onto my arm, pulling me back from the brink of completely losing it. I looked at her then to Rebecca who was standing right beside her. I don't know how Rachel managed to pull this one off, but she managed to get Rebecca to fly up her despite everything that's ever happened to us. It was nice to have both of my sisters here when I actually needed them the most in my life.

"He's probably running a little late," Rebecca said, calming me down too.

The twins were good at keeping me under control, they've always been like that since we were kids. After mom died though, it was me who had to keep everyone together, and look at how sorry of a job I did. The twins left the first chance that they got, leaving me alone to take care of our aging father. I was forced into growing up faster then I was already meant to be as a werewolf.

I had to believe in my sisters though, I just couldn't imagine that two of the unthinkable options happened to my Rio.

"He probably slept in," I said, trying to maintain control. "Or better yet, he probably just slipped on his own two feet and got taken to the hospital."

"Getting taken to the hospital is a good thing?" Rebecca asked.

"Rio is a walking disaster magnet," Rachel told her. "Ending up in a cast is better than him in a body bag."

"Oh."

Yeah, I sometimes forgot that Rebecca wasn't in on the big, family secret just yet. We were going to tell her, eventually, maybe if she stuck around long enough we would tell her. Rachel was fully aware of everything only because of her damn imprint to that moron Paul. But I was drifting away from what was really important. My top concern was finding out just where the hell my fiancé, soon to be husband, was.

And here comes the concern mother-in-law.

I've been working on this surprise for Rio for months now. I managed to get Renée and Phil to fly up to Forks just in time for the wedding. I managed to pick them up earlier today, after fighting a killer hangover that I owe thanks to the guys in the pack. Nothing happened that I should be ashamed about just a lot of drinking, gambling, and a couple of fist fights. We all recovered in plenty of time for the big day.

Except Rio was still nowhere to be seen. Now Renée was going to yell at me and call me a crappy son-in-law and she would do everything in her power to get us divorced like her and Charlie did! And oh dear God, I'm panicking like those stupid chicks on all of those crappie teen dramas that everyone seemed to like. No! I was much worse, I was like those stupid pregnant girls on 16 and Pregnant who are taking advantage of their crack babies.

The mother of my future spouse looked beautiful in the floral dress she was wearing. I could see where Rio got his beauty from, but he looked so much more like Charlie than anything else. They even had the same grumpy look on his face. "Jacob, where's Rio?" Renée asked, her voice full of concern. "Did something happen? Please tell me he's not dead."

"I don't know," I told her, honestly. "Do you know where Alice is? She might now something."

"Calm down, people, I'm here to save the day." Speak of the Devil and she shall appear. At least now I know that the saying was a hundred percent true. Alice showed up with her phone in hand as she stuffed it back into her purse. "Charlie's car broke down on the way over here so Seth had to call Rose to pick them up. Rosalie just called right now and they're about five minutes away."

"Thank God!" we all said, together.

Leave it to Alice to have the power to avert the apocalypse. I hated the leeches, but they came through for you in the end. I had to give them points for that.

"So everyone get to your place," Alice said, ushering us all around. "Jacob, tell Embry and Quil to get their asses in line before I start throwing punches."

"Yes ma'am," I said, snatching my half-hungover friends.

I managed to drag them both to the white arch that we all put up. It took me about a month to fix it and Alice a week to upgrade the designs for it. I think our teamwork spoke for itself. At least, I was impressed by my end of the line, I had to give Alice her points though.

"That Four Loco was a bad idea," Embry mumbled as he forced himself to stand.

"And that's what I told you while you were chugging it down," Quil said, snickering a little. He was a tad more sober then Embry was. Paul and Jared were completely shit-faced as they struggled to recover, but Sam bounced back quickly enough. I managed to avoid most of the drinks, except the ones they forced down my throat.

So now I waited and waited for what felt like an eternity. I stood at the arch, waiting for any sign that Rio was going to show up when my ears picked up the roar of an engine. A suburban pulled up in the parking lot where I saw Seth running out with Leah and Sue stepping out next. Charlie came out, holding onto Rio's hand and my heart stopped as I saw him.

Rio saw me too and began to smile as his father dragged him down here.

Seth and Leah tried to play it cool as they walked down the aisle together just as the music started to play. The traditional wedding music was a little out of place since this was a gay wedding, but it was a nice touch. I could only keep smiling as Rio came walking down the aisle with his father holding onto his only son's hand. When they reached us, Charlie hugged his son before taking a seat between Sue and Renée.

The priest we managed to snag who was comfortable enough with the ceremony began to speak. I didn't really pay attention to any of the details, I was too focused on looking at how amazing that Rio looked today. He was completely flawless, almost ungodly perfect like the Cullens were, but still so human.

"Dearly beloved, on this beautiful Saturday afternoon, we are gathered here today to bring these two men together in a sacred union. These young men are pledging their lives to one another in the union of holy matrimony. If there is anyone who does not agree that these two should be wed then speak now or forever hold your peace."

I waited, half-expecting Edward to jump in.

But the moment passed and I saw the bloodsucker sitting, nodding his head at me as he stayed perfectly still.

"Now, I shall continue," said the priest. "I've had the liberty of getting to know Jacob Black and Ilario Swan these last couple of months. I've gotten to know just a fraction of their life story. It just so happens that the boys' fathers are best friends, it always seemed natural for their boys to be good friends as well."

"During the summers that Ilario would visit his father, the two often played with one another as good friends do, but tragedy struck for Jacob one year. He lost his mother in a horrific car accident that was a devastating loss for his family. Jacob was forced to grow up in order to take care of his father and to protect his older sisters. He fell into a routine though, his life just ran around in circles until the day that Ilario moved back to Forks to live with his father. The two reformed their friendship and everything seemed fine from then on."

"The two have been through many trials together, but all that has done is made their love grow stronger. Even though many religious institutions feel that homosexuality is an abdominal sin, I do not feel the same. God has given us all the precious gift of love to share with everyone, no matter the gender they were born to or the color of their skin. It is this precious gift of love that must be continued to be spread throughout the world to bring peace to all the nations' and their people."

"Jacob and Ilario have taken the time to write their own vows, which I will now allow them to share with one another."

The priest went silent, giving me a nod to go first.

I could only blush like an idiot as I pulled out the crumbled sheet of paper from my pocket. I hoped that no one really cared about that. Rio just smiled at me, holding onto my hand as he waited for me to speak. "Rio," I finally said, strongly, "I've always loved you, even since we were kids. I didn't understand the feelings though, I just thought they meant that I thought of you as a friend or even a brother. When you moved back though and we ran into each other on the beach, I realized that I was in love with you. And when you had your heartbroken, I wanted to cry so badly for you and do whatever it took to make you happy. The time we've spent together has meant everything to me and I promise that I will never stop loving you. I vow that I will protect you always, cherish you forever, and love you even after the world ends."

A tear ran down Rio's cheek, which I quickly took the liberty to brush away. He blushed before finally taking out a paper from his own pocket. He handed it to me, all I saw was a big heart on the page. "I memorized what I wanted to say," he said, laughing a little. "Jacob, I never thought it would be you that I'd be marrying. I actually never thought I would ever get married, partly because of politics, but mostly because of what happened with my parents. I never believed in marriage and after I had my heartbroken by my first love, I gave up on love. You saved me though, and I owe you so much for that. So Jacob, I promise to give myself fully to you: mind, heart, body, and soul. I'm yours always and forever."

"That was beautiful," the priest told us. "Now, to swear your vows before God. Give one another your rings that signify your union to one another." I slid a ring onto Rio's finger and he did the same for me. "Now Jacob, repeat after me: I, Jacob Black, promise to honor and cherish Ilario Swan in sickness and in health until death do us part."

"I, Jacob Black, promise to honor and cherish Ilario Swan in sickness and in health until death do us part."

"Ilario, the same for you. I, Ilario Swan, promise to honor and to cherish Jacob Black in sickness and in health until death do us part."

"I, Ilario Swan, promise to honor and cherish Jacob Black in sickness and in health until death do us part."

"Now, by the power invested in me before God, I now pronounce you two husband and husband. You may now kiss."

He didn't have to tell me twice.

I didn't waste a second in pulling myself towards Rio, locking my arms around his waist. His arms swung around to lock onto my neck as he pulled himself to me. Our lips met midway and I knew that today was beyond the happiest day in my life. This was just perfect, this is where I knew that my happiness belonged.

The applause came as their cheers supported our union, our marriage.

The minute I pulled myself away from Rio, only for a second though, so I could stare at my husband straight in the eyes. As soon as I did this though, I felt something powerful coursing throughout my being. My breath escaped, leaving me completely paralyzed as I stared into the eyes of Rio Swan.

It was like a hallelujah chorus, no it was more than that.

The universe had spoken to me.

The universe tethered me together to Rio.

I, Jacob Black, had finally imprinted on Ilario Black-Swan, my husband.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

Despite the awkwardness of being here, I applauded as Jacob and Rio shared their first kiss as a married couple. Riley applauded too, a soft smile curtaining his normally depressed self. Even his thoughts were a little more pleasant and relaxed as he looked at the happy couple. All the thoughts I could here were cheerfully, beautiful even when I felt the strongest thoughts coming from Jacob.

I had no choice but to smile, knowing now that Rio would never be hurt now. Jacob would forever more be loyal to him and only him even after the Angel of Death took their lives. It would never stop the love that the two of them shared for one another.

With the ceremony over now, everyone started to make their way over to the reception area. Our family had our own table by the wedding party and the immediate family. The La Push Wolf Pack was across from us with Rio's friends in the middle of all of us. It was a safety that Alice put up to be certain that nobody would act out.

The rest were just guests that the family invited from extended friends and family.

"Your truly outdid yourself, Alice," Rosalie said, looking around us.

I agreed as I looked around the beautiful reception.

Alice really did outdid herself as a wedding planner. She designed every bit of this, making this far more beautiful than I ever could imagine.

The white canopy filtered in the rosy skylight and provided a cool enough area where no one would feel uncomfortable in their clothes. A giant floor was made at the center of all of this so everyone could dance, once the DJ finished setting up his equipment. A few trees were scattered about with lights tangled up along it. The canopy above us even looked like glitter was sparkling over it like the stars at night. Little bits of light blue where everywhere, even on the tables where the beautiful plants stood with some baring light blue petals.

This was beautiful.

"I'm just awesome like that," Alice said, chuckling a little.

Emmett chuckled back, nudging his giant arm against her. "Not afraid to toot your own horn, huh?" he said, smiling at her.

"Don't hate on my girl," Jasper said, wrapping an arm over her. "This entire wedding is beautiful, Alice. You should be proud of yourself."

"I still think the jury is out on this one," said Carlisle. "You have to wait until you hear what Rio and Jacob say about it."

"I'm certain they think it's beautiful," Esme said, defending Alice's beautiful wedding.

My first response was to chuckle, which gained everyone at the table's attention. I straightened myself up, realizing that the mind reader was in trouble. "Well, neither one is thinking about the wedding right now," I told them. "They're both dealing with the fact that Jacob just imprinted."

"Oh God no!" Alice said, covering her face. "I failed. Jacob fell in love with someone else. How could I not see this coming?"

I had to correct her though before she had a panic attack. "Alice, Jacob imprinted on Rio," I told her and everyone else. I smiled before looking over to where the two of them were laughing, holding onto one another's hand. "When they said their vows and had their first kiss, Jacob immediately imprinted on Rio. Neither one understand why it happened now, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it would have to do with Rio's elf blood."

Emmett just shook his head as he leaned back against the chair. "Damn, the kid is a freak," he said, laughing. "He can repeal an imprint until he decides to marry them. He can also block your mind reading and the Volturi's powers. I'm afraid to see what kind of power this kind would if he was born a girl and had Jacob's wolf babies. Or if he even became like one of us."

"He would be a weapon of mass destruction, no doubt," Riley said, speaking up for the first time. "He was able to repeal Victoria and myself like nothing."

"He also hurt James and Laurent," added Rosalie.

"The kid's freaking Superman or something," said Jasper. "The military would no doubt like to experiment on him."

With that dreadful thought in my head now, the servers arrived to bring everyone dinner. Everything died down after that as everyone just focused on the food in front of them. We pretended to eat as well since we didn't want to risk any form of exposure.

The moon had finally rose up and half the guests were already dancing when Rio took the stage.

He looked as radiant as ever as he waved to everyone. He smiled, a pure honest smile just as I noticed that Jacob was by his side. As much as it pained a part of me to admit, they did look so happy together. They were perfect for one another, I've come to accept that now. I would never stand in their way again.

"We just want to thank you all for coming to our wedding," Rio said into the microphone. "I want to thank you all for your support and all your kind words. It means a lot to Jake and I. So, I hope you enjoy the rest of your night with us. First though, I have some people I desperately need to thank. Alice, you are like a sister to me, I thank you for putting together the wedding, I would've never had the patience to achieve this. I'd also like to thank the rest of the Cullen family, but most importantly I want to thank you, Edward, for everything."

Jacob nodded in agreement before getting away from the stage. I felt horribly embarrassed just as Jacob showed up, pulling me towards the stage. Everyone who was on the dance floor were staring, all of their thoughts screaming at me with confusion. Even Riley was worried by what could be happening next. Well, to be honest, all I detected was jealously radiating from every fiber of his being.

"Chill out, vamp," Jacob whispered, "this is something nice." Jacob walked away from me now, joining his wolf-brothers.

Rio just smiled as he raised the microphone to his lips the minute that music began to play. It was then that I realized that he was going to sing to me.

"It's hard to remember how it felt before. Now I found the love of my life. Passes things, get more comfortable. Everything is going right."

I watched as Rio's hips swayed slightly as he held onto the stand for balance.

"And after all the obstacles, it's good to see you now with someone else. And it's such a miracle that you and me are still good friends. After all that we've been through, I know we're cool. I know we're cool."

"And we used to think it was impossible. Now you call me by my new last name. Memories seem like so long ago. Time always kills the pain."

"Remember Port Angeles, the dreaming days where the mess was made. Look how all the kids have grown, oh we have changed but we're still the same. After all that we've been through, I know we're cool. I know we're cool."

"Yeah, I know we're cool."

"And I'll be happy for you, if you can be happy for me. Circles and triangles." And now we're hanging out with your new boyfriend. So far from where we've been, I know we're cool. I know we're cool."

Riley appeared beside me and I immediately reached for his hand, holding onto the cold hand with care. Riley squeezed mine back as he leaned in closer to me as we listened to the rest of Rio's beautiful song.

"C-cool, uh-uh, I know we're cool. Uh-uh. Uh, I know we're cool. C-cool, yeah. I know we're cool. You knew..."

Rio placed the microphone back into the stand before getting down from the stage. I released Riley's hand to hug the bridegroom for a moment. Rio kissed my cheek then went over to Riley, hugging the newborn as well. The look in Riley's eyes were that of surprise but he warmed up to Rio's touch and hugged back.

I briefly heard Rio tell Riley to care of me, which had me chuckle a little just as I watched Rio return to Jacob.

Riley held his hand out to me and I accepted it as we began to dance in our own circle to the gentle music playing in the background.

* * *

**Rio's POV**

My mother was squeezing the life out of me the minute I returned to the table. I tried to hug her back, but her super hug had pinned my arms to the side. This was worse than whenever Jacob gave me a bear hug after he was all sweaty from working out. Wait, I actually like those hugs because we got naked after words and had hot sex.

Pervert, stop thinking that way while your mother is hugging you.

"Can't breathe, mom!"

Finally, my mother released me so I can take in a great gasp for air. My heart was pounding against my chest as Renée chuckled lightly. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but I can't help it," she said, her face covered with tears. "My little boy is married. I'm a mother, I have the right to be upset that my baby's left me."

"I promise that I'll take care of him, Mrs. Dwyer," Jacob said, sneaking up behind me. I had to yelp when his arms grabbed onto my waist pulling me against his tux. I was amazed that he kept it on for so long without ripping it in any shape or form.

"You'd better or I will kill you, Jacob!" my mother said, threatening my husband.

Yikes, that's still weird to say. My husband, Jacob is my husband now. This is going to take a little bit of time to get used to.

"Jacob, let your husband go." Alice popped out from thin air and immediately took hold of my hand. She dragged me away from my husband, pointing to the time on her phone. Right, we were going to cut the cake soon so I needed to give Jacob my gift.

Once again, I was dragged onto the stage with everyone looking at me again. It felt terribly awkward to be on stage, but it wasn't so bad since I was about to sing. When I sang, I felt all my fears and insecurities melt away as I knew nothing but courage.

I took in a breath for courage as I went up to the microphone. "Jacob Black," I said, calling out to my husband. He started to approach the stage with my parents and Billy by him with everyone else watching as well. Quite a crowd had gathered, everyone already aware of what I was about to do. Oh how well they all knew me. "This one is for us. This will be our song." A song that would hold us together.

The minute the music played, I opened my mouth to let the notes come out from me.

I looked over to my father as I sang this for him. "When I was younger, I saw my daddy cry and curse at the wind. He broke his own heart and I watched as he tried to reassemble it."

Then I looked at my mother, knowing that this was her part. "And my momma swore that she would never let herself forget. And that was the day that I promised I'd never sing of love if it does not exist."

I got down from the stage and still sang as I made my approach to Jacob. "But darling, you are the only exception. You are the only exception." People began to part away at this point as I held onto Jacob's hand and dragged him to the middle of the stage. "You are the only exception. You are the only exception."

He pulled me in close and I slowly danced in his arms, while continuing to sing. "Maybe I know somewhere, deep in my soul that love never lasts. And we've got to find other ways to make it alone. Or keep a straight face. And I've always lived like this keeping a comfortable distance." I ripped myself away from him, taking a few steps as he grabbed onto my hand to keep me from going too far. "And up until now I've sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness."

"Because none of it was ever worth the risk."

I returned to my husband as we danced together a little more. I let him lead the way for us as he held me in his arms and I placed my head against his firm chest. "Well you are the only exception. You are the only exception. You are the only exception. You are the only exception. You are the only exception."

Jacob held me so close now that I never wanted to get away. It warmed my heart to be so close to him as I sang stronger and louder then I have in a long time. "I've got a tight grip on reality, but I can't let go of what's in front of me here. I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up. Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream."

"You are the only exception. You are the only exception. You are the only exception. You are the only exception."

"You are the only exception. You are the only exception. You are the only exception. You are the only exception."

"And I'm on my way to believing." Jacob spun me around just once and I giggled like a little girl as he did so. He twirled me back to him with his arm wrapped around me, a dorky smile on that dumb face that I loved so much. "Oh, and I'm on my way to believing."

Jacob kept his smile on his face as he leaned in to kiss me, I kissed back as bliss took hold of me.

The rest of the wedding was a complete blur to me after that. I remember dancing with Angela and Jessica at one point. Then Alice dragged me away then I was dragged into a dance with both my parents, the twins, Leah, then Seth, and lastly Jake finally stole me away for the last dance. We fought with our cakes and I ended up pushing Embry onto the dance floor to dance with some girl he had been hitting on for the better part of the night.

It was a very good night and it turned out better when Jacob and I got a surprise at the end.

We were forced into a car by the wolf pack only to find two suitcases in the back. There was someone in the front that I didn't recognize but we soon found out what was going on when Charlie, Renée, Phil, and Billy showed up at the window. They had gotten us a hotel room to spend the week in Seattle for our honeymoon and we were going to be leaving right then and there.

There were no objections to this as I tearfully thanked everyone, while Jacob held onto me and thanked them as well. We left everyone to clean up for the wedding, taking the long drive to Seattle with our tired selves holding onto one another. Well, I was a little tired, but Jacob was wired like an Energizer Bunny. Charlie allowed the two of us to drink, so we each had a couple glasses of wine. I was feeling a bit light headed, but Jacob could tolerate alcohol since he was so massively huge.

I had spaced out for probably the entire ride because when I opened my eyes, I saw city lights all around us. I was back in Seattle now and not to go to school. The driver took us to the Marriott Hotel where we'd spend the next week by ourselves.

Nobody would bother us, which I thought was absolutely perfect.

Jacob checked us in, while I sat down by the Bellhop who had our luggage. The young man showed us to our room and took our things inside. Jacob gave the kid a tip and waited until he was gone before snatching me up.

"What the hell, Jacob!" I said as he carried me bridal style.

"It's tradition," Jacob said, laughing at me. "The groom must carry his bride through the threshold."

"I'll kick your ass later for this."

"No you won't," Jacob said, closing the door with his foot. "You're a sucker for all this romance."

There was no denying that. I proved Jacob right the minute I kissed him as he continued to carry me to our bed. He gently placed me down and climbed in beside me, pulling me against his body as close as we could get with so much clothes on.

I could already tell that Jacob was just dying to strip, mostly because he hasn't worn so much clothing for this long in ages. I pushed him down onto his back and worked on undressing my husband so that he could get comfortable. Jacob's eyes rolled back as my fingertips traced down the front of his chest until I reached the belt. I unfastened that and pushed his pants down, he helped by wiggling his hips around a little. I left his underwear on though, while he kicked the pants and his shoes off.

He spun us around so he was on top of me. He wasted no time in undressing me, he wasn't one to tease when he was feeling so…randy. He proved his dominance by stripping me as quickly as he could, grabbing every exposed bit of skin that he could get his hands on. I clung onto his muscular chest as he literally tore my underwear off, leaving me completely nude.

Our lips met once more as we took each other for the first time as a married couple.

My legs wrapped around Jacob's waist, pulling him as close to me as possible. I shivered as I felt the head of his dick poke at my ass. My entire body tensed up as he already tried to push himself inside of me. I couldn't help but to moan his name, which turned him on more as he bit down on my shoulder.

I cried his name out once more as Jacob shoved his entire length inside of me. I was used to the feeling by now, but going in dry still hurt a little, but my own desire blinded me. Neither one of us cared at the moment, we were just desperate to have one another right now.

Jacob was spilling out moans and curses as I clenched onto his length. His eyes rolled back briefly and my body tensed up as he pulled out of me. Before I even had a chance to take a breath, he slammed himself back inside of me until we both spilled out curses.

This went on for about half an hour with me on my back, my legs on his shoulders, and Jacob leaning towards me as he fucked me madly.

Finally though, we both reached out climax as we sanctified our marriage on the bed of a hotel.

We completely fell apart beside one another. I could feel Jacob's sperm leaking from behind me, while mine had landed on his perfect chest. Mixed with his sweat, the front of his body was completely drenched and dirty. Jacob only licked his lips at me as I took the hint. I licked his chest quickly then laid down on my stomach, wiggling my ass a little so he'd take the hint. He smiled as he jumped back up, his tongue cleaning up the mess he made inside of me.

It took everything we had not to cum again, but we managed to hold back. Besides, this was only our first night married. We had the rest of our lives to be dirty, sex crazed men.

I had my head on Jacob's sweaty chest with our arms and legs tangled together. We hadn't bothered to throw the cover over us as we just laid there in the dark room. I couldn't help but to smile as we shared our thoughts about the wedding with each other. I was crying as I heard what he had to say about our first kiss though as husband and…husband.

"You sure that you've imprinted with me?" I asked for the hundredth time.

"Absolutely, positively!" Jacob said, holding onto me. "You are mine forever and I am yours forever. Nothing can ever keep us apart from one another now."

"Don't say that," I said, placing my fingers on his lips. Dirty Jake, he took my fingers in his mouth and sucked on them. There was no way I could fight the urge to moan, but I pulled my fingers away from his mouth. "I don't want to jinx anything."

"I know," Jacob said, kissing me once more. "Let's get some sleep, Mr. Rio Black-Swan."

My smile widened as I agreed with my husband. I kissed him again and he held me all the tighter to his body. I never felt so happy as I drifted asleep in the arms of my husband.

This was the perfect way to end the perfect day.

* * *

REVIEW!

"Cool" by Gwen Stefani and "The Only Exception" by Paramore.


	19. Breaking Dawn III

Author's Note: WOOOO! I am exhausted. All I can say is don't stay up till three in the morning playing Dragon Age 2 unless you want to be all messed up the next day. Haha. Well, here is the newest chapter! Keep up with the steller reviews because they are so awesome! Big thing are brewing in this chapter and the next...well...the next chapter will just be INSANE! There is only six chapters to Breaking Dawn, plus another chapter that is the Epilogue to the entire fic. So we only got four more chapters after this one until the fic is DONE! June is going to be a good month. Those of you who are interested, I started up my X-Men Evolution fan fic again. And I also have a SPECIAL present for all of you. If you go onto my profile and follow the link to my deviantart account then you'll see a photoshop I did for the fic. Hint hint, it's of Jacob and Rio! So check it out. Review the chapter. Love you all! Read and review.

**A Serious Mess:**

**Jacob's POV**

Our honeymoon in Seattle was just amazing. It was the best week I had in my entire life. A week of just being with Rio and doing whatever the hell we wanted to do without any concerns about having to be there for anyone else. Granted, I missed the pack like hell and it sucked not being able to go wolf, but being around Rio more than made up for all of that.

My Imprint was all that I was concerned with. Keeping Rio happy and safe was all that I could find myself focusing long enough on.

The week we spent in Seattle practically flew passed us as we ran around the city. We went to a couple of museums, Rio attacked the coffee shops for his fix, and we even went to the zoo to look at all the caged animals. I pitted the wolves that were caged up and felt an almost kindred connection to my spirit brothers and sisters. But I snapped out of it soon enough as Rio dragged me over to the next part of the zoo.

For our last night there, I surprised Rio with the biggest surprise I could get. It was lucky for us that Lady Gaga was in town the same week we were on our honeymoon. I managed to win a pair of tickets on the radio so I surprised Rio with those and knew I was set for life. Rio would never be able to deny me in any shape, form, or way. He nearly died when I showed off the tickets I got when he decided to sleep about half the day away. We had a…workout of a time last night to the point where I barely managed to find the strength to get to the radio station to pick up the tickets.

Rio was still bouncing around like a little kid as we came back from the amazing show. Now, I wasn't a fan of Lady Gaga, but I had to admit that the bitch knew how to put on a great show. Even I was halfway in tears when she sang Edge of Glory, which she dedicated to all of her "little monsters".

The happy look on his face was enough to tell me that I did good.

Rio was on my back with his arms locked around my shoulders as I held him up by the legs. He kept on singing song after song, I couldn't help but to laugh at just how much of a little dork he was. My half-elf husband didn't seem to give a damn as he only sang louder as we made our way up the street to the hotel.

"You are amazing, Jacob," Rio said, burying his face against my neck. "I love you so much. What did I do to deserve such a perfect guy like you? I still can't believe that you got us tickets to see Lady Gaga! Do you have any idea how expensive they are? How did you even manage to win them?"

"It was a pain in the ass," I told him, "but it's a good thing that Seth is so good with brain teasers. He was a lot of help in cracking that egg."

"Well, it looks like I owe Seth a big thank you too."

"What about me?" I asked him as we entered the hotel.

Rio just held onto me tighter before rubbing his moist lips against my ear. I shivered from the contact of his warm lips against my cool ears. "The faster you get us up to the bedroom then the fast you get your reward," he whispered into my ear.

That was all that was needed for me to kick it up a gear. I ran to the elevators and got us in there just before the doors could close on us. Rio was laughing the whole way as I continued to carry him on my back until we got to the room. I couldn't control my own giddiness and excitement as I got Rio into the bedroom, dropping him on the mattress.

I dropped myself beside my husband and placed my hands on his thin waist. "This is our last night in Seattle," I said, pulling him closer. "We really should make the most of it."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Rio asked, purring against my neck.

His warm breath made every nerve on my body tingle with excitement. I could practically taste his own anticipation as he drew himself closer to me. I knew this was part of the imprint we shared; our connection to one another was growing stronger. There were so many things I could feel, I felt so much closer to Rio then I ever thought humanly possible. His emotions were tied to my own. Every bit of pleasure he felt only made my own happiness grow to new level.

So long as Rio was happy, I could know true happiness.

With his back against the mattress, I got on top of him as I began a gentle assault on his neck. My lips pushed against the skin as my teeth gently nibbled against him. Rio's body tensed up and made my own body tingle in a similar response. He was tossing underneath me as I took hold of his body and slowly began to undress him.

Every article of clothing that Rio wore, I ripped it off him and tossed it carelessly on the floor. But Rio wasn't about to let me be the only one naked here. With a strange burst of strength, Rio turned us around so that I was on my back now. I looked at him with surprise, but I felt a wave of lust hit me as Rio took me.

He stripped my clothes quicker then I had removed his. The minute we were both naked, Rio pounced on me some more. The first place he attacked was my lips. His hot, desperate kisses were like a ton of bricks smashing against me. I grabbed onto Rio's waist and dragging him closer as I mixed our tongues into the solution.

Rio wasn't about to submit though as he got slightly more aggressive. He pushed me back down on the mattress with a very hot smirk gracing that beautiful face of his. "I want to do the dominating this time," Rio said, pulling my arms above my head. "Just relax, Jacob. I promise you'll enjoy what I'm about to do."

With that said, Rio started to kiss his way down my body. I groaned softly as he started to suck on each of my nipples. When his beautiful mouth wasn't sucking on one, he used his fingers to tease the other to send pleasurable sensations throughout my body. I knew he felt exactly what I was, proving that our link was growing stronger with one another

Rio pulled himself back up to my face and kissed me gently this time. I had my hands on his back while his hands were on the mattress. He removed himself from me though and I was left moaning as I begged him to return. He only smirked before turning himself around so that we were in a slightly new position.

"Oh," I said, yanking Rio's legs apart as his hard dick smacked my cheek.

He wasted no time and neither did I. As Rio gave me a blowjob, I returned the favor but with my fingers slightly teasing his tight hole. It amazed me that no matter how many times or how rough we fucked, Rio stayed so damn tight. I was groaning hotly as Rio took me down all the way until I was pushing against the back of his throat. He bore no gag reflex by now, which only served to turn me on way more.

I was sucking on his member when his lips left me. The cold air swatted against my hard dick, making it dreadfully uncomfortable for me until Rio wrapped his hand around it. I removed his cock from my mouth and decided to get Rio ready for the main event. Using both tongue and finger, I pleasured Rio's cute bottom, making my husband wiggle with excitement. He waved his bum around as I pushed two fingers inside with my tongue making its way inside as well.

"Fuck!" Rio cried out. "Jake!"

He returned his mouth to my cock, making me boil over with heat. I prepped his bum as much as I could, while containing the urge to bust a nut right now.

It was amazing how Rio brought out this sexual side of me. Well, I had the wolf to blame for that. I never cared much about sex, at least not more so then the average guy, until after I phased for the first time. After that, sex was constantly on my mind as I craved the appropriate mate, and that had always been Rio. I had always dreamed of being in bed with Rio, making love to him from dusk till dawn.

Oh how joyful I was when we made love in the backseat of the Rabbit, my first time. I never wanted to let Rio go after that. I never wanted him to leave, but then all that shit happened when Rio came back. Then he came back to me though. He accepted my proposal and we made love in the woods.

Rio and I were now looking at each other with my husband sitting on my lap. He pried himself up then aligned himself perfectly as he had me slid inside of him. He gently eased himself onto my lengthy member, making the both of us taking in a deep breath. I felt his walls pushing against me as he filled himself with me. Rio didn't waste much time as he began to lift himself up and down, bringing the both of us wave after wave of pleasure.

"Damn, Rio!" I cursed. "Fuck."

I got myself up from the mattress and wrapped myself around my husband. I pushed myself against him, hitting his pleasure spot with each thrust. Rio was quivering like hell as I pushed his chest against my own as he continued to ride me like a damn horse. The sensations I felt, the emotions that were jumping from his mind was nearly enough to knock me out. It took everything I had not to cum, but I knew I wouldn't last much longer, not like this.

"Fuck, Jacob!" Rio shouted again. "Don't stop. Right there."

I knew exactly what he meant as I pushed myself up. I tried to hit his spot as often as I possibly could, but all my muscles were tightening up. I felt my dick swelling up until I could no longer contain it. I came inside of Rio without any hesitation. Rio gave out a similar cry and soon I felt something warm sticking between us.

Covered in sweat, we both fell down on the mattress, panting for air.

"We probably woke everyone up," I told him.

"Hopefully they enjoyed the show then," Rio said, taking in a deep breath. "Sweet Jesus. If I had been a girl then I would have no doubt I'd be pregnant by now."

I had to laugh at that one as I held onto Rio as tightly as possible. That was a good point; it was a good thing he wasn't born with a vagina instead of a penis. "We've done it more than enough times," I said, kissing his ear. "You would probably be carrying a dozen kids with all the little Jake's swimming inside of you."

"That's gross, Jacob," Rio said, laughing as he pushed me away. "You're probably right though."

He yawned at me after that and I kissed him once more, telling him to go to sleep.

For once, Rio didn't fight with me as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

I could only smile as I got out of bed to get us cleaned up. I wiped all the cum off of our bodies before getting to work on packing up our bags. We were checking out early and my sleeping husband wouldn't be much use right now. It was up to the big, bad wolf to take care of everything.

So while Rio was sleeping, I got all of our things ready. By the time I finished, it was already three o'clock. The concert had ended at twelve-thirty; we got to the hotel about one. We had sex for an hour then I spent the next half an hour packing out things. Huh, time really does fly by when you're busy.

Now with all that mess taken care of, I finally collapsed onto the mattress and enjoyed a couple of hours worth of sleep with Rio cuddling against my body.

This was a good way to fall asleep.

I'm so happy I could fall asleep like this for the rest of my life.

But as I went to sleep, I felt that things were going to change as I dreamt of a little boy who looked a lot like me running around.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

Things had calmed down considerably since Rio and Jacob have been away on their honeymoon. As much as it should bother me that the love of both my lives is married to another man, I felt oddly at ease with myself. The heartache I once had had drifted into oblivion and I felt freer then I had in a long time. I think I've honestly come to terms with reality so now I could pursue something, or should I say someone, to make me happy.

Riley and I have grown closer in a week, even though many would argue it wasn't that long of time. For beings that don't sleep though, a hundred and sixty-eight hours of nonstop talking was a very long time. It was just seven straight days of Riley and I talking to better be acquainted with one another. We just laid down on the bed with music playing as we talked about nearly everything about ourselves and experiences.

I've learned so much about Riley in that one week then I had since I've meet him. Even though his mind was an open book to me, I still never saw nowhere near as many things since the week we talked. I couldn't disagree that nothing could've made this better. The simple act of getting to know someone was more than enough to sedate me. It was this same…courtship that had me so mesmerized by Rio. I think the early moments of our relationship where I got to know just who Rio is was the best part to me.

So far, I could say the same was true with what Riley and I shared.

But as the weeks passed, I began to notice something was off with Rio. I occasionally visited Rio, mostly whenever Jacob was away with the wolf pack. It was during those times I noticed that Rio looked paler, sickly even. I tried to convince him to see the doctor, but he swore that it was just a bad cold. I knew this wasn't true, but I tried to leave it be since Rio wasn't my concern.

For a month though, this went on and I had to tell Jacob about it.

So while everyone was frantic to prepare for Tanya and her coven's arrival, I decided to take the time to see Jacob. Rio was away at work so I thought that now was the best time to confront Jacob and possibly see if there was something wrong. I may no longer be romantically involved with Rio, but I wasn't to let him suffer from strange ailment. Jacob had swore to me to keep Rio safe so I was going to hold him to his promise.

It was with a heavy sigh that I knocked on their door, hoping that Jacob wouldn't be too hostile. Either way, I needed to talk to Jacob Black. I had to inform him of the Denali Coven's arrival so that the wolves would not attack our friends from the north. We knew the wolves wouldn't attack them, but we had to make certain that Tanya and her family would be safe so long as they were visiting us.

When the door finally opened up, I was surprised to see the tired look on Jacob's face. The wolf didn't look like he's gotten much sleep, which didn't seem right to me. He tried to suppress all his thoughts not that he knew I was present, but I could still pick up on a few things. Most of his thoughts were directed to Rio and what was happening to his health. So Jacob did know that something was wrong with Rio.

"Hello Edward," Jacob said, only slightly sour. "Rio's at work."

"I know, Jacob," I said, calmly. "I need to talk to you though. We have some friends arriving and I needed to let you know that they would be hear by tomorrow evening."

"Fine," Jacob said, yawning. "I'll let Sam know that we won't attack. Is that all?"

I only shook my head as I tried to step closer to the threshold. "No, I need to talk to you about Rio," I told him. His look of concern didn't go unnoticed. His thoughts were strong too as they questioned just how much I knew. "Rio is ill, isn't he? Jacob, can you tell me what's wrong with him? Maybe there's something we can do to help."

Jacob sighed as he stepped away from the doorway to allow me inside. I followed him to their small living room and took a seat on the chair. Jacob folded his hands onto his lap, staring at the wooden floor as his thoughts blew into a vicious cyclone. It took every bit of control I had not to get lost in those thoughts. I had to wait until Jacob regain control of himself so that I could better understand what was going on here.

"Rio's sick," said Jacob. "I don't know what's wrong with him though. He's been like this since the week after we got back from the honeymoon. I honestly have no idea what's wrong with him other then he's been tired, he's been throwing up a lot, and he's being so moody. His emotions change at the drop of the dime. His powers have grown stronger too like insanely strong. I can tell it takes every bit of self-control he has not too seriously hurt me."

"Wait," I said, lost at that point. "Rio…he's attacked you?"

Jacob nodded his head, tried to blow that off with a laugh. I could sense the troubling thoughts that were brewing in his lost head. "For the littlest things too," he said, softly. "Like say I forget to wash the dishes or take out the trash, he nearly blew me up and not in the good way. He threw a fireball at my head. He tosses and turns a lot at night. I try to make him as comfortable as possible, but I have no idea what's wrong with him. He's refusing to go to a doctor though. He keeps saying he has it under control, but the imprint is telling me that he's just as confused as I am. Rio has absolutely no idea what is going on with him."

It was then I saw just how powerful an imprint could be. I understood every bit of pain that Jacob was going through with Rio now. So many things were wrong when they should be right. I knew I had to do something to help them both out. I couldn't allow all this pain to go on without trying to lessen the degree of sorrow even by a marginal level.

"Maybe I can get Carlisle to do something," I told Jacob. "I'll see if Alice can possibly see what is wrong with Rio as well. Thank you for telling me."

"As much as I hate you," Jacob said, staring at me, "I know I'm going to need your help. As much as it kills me to say it, I don't think I can save Rio on my own. Whatever is going on with him, I know that Rio is going to need more than just my help."

I simply nodded my head, promising I would do what I could as I left their home.

I ran back home as fast as I could, telling Carlisle and Alice everything that Jacob told me.

Alice tried to focus on Rio's potential futures, but she could only say that everything was covered in a thick fog. She couldn't see anything, not even a sign of what Rio might be going through.

"What does that mean?" I asked. "Will this kill Rio?"

"I wouldn't go to that extreme," said Alice. "I think this means that whatever Rio is going through is beyond me. I've never experienced anything remotely close to what Rio is going through so I can't even begin to see a future for him. Carlisle, I think you're the only one who will be able to help him at this point."

Carlisle only nodded his head at us all. He decided that he would go to hospital to discuss things with Rio. I decided to go with him, Alice wanted to go as well to make sure that Rio would be safe. We all wanted to make sure that Rio would be able to fight whatever was wrong with him. Alice and I also had to insure Carlisle's safety.

If Rio's powers had grown to the point where he could possibly injure Jacob then Carlisle would be in danger too.

We made it to the hospital and eventually found the desk that Rio was working at. He was dressed up in scrubs, sorting a few files out and looked far paler then he did when I last saw him. I could also smell weakness oozing from his body since he had no idea how to take care of himself. This wouldn't be a problem if Rio would've just swallowed his damn pride and went to see a doctor to have himself diagnosed. I couldn't let Rio kill himself because of this, I had to do something to help him and Jacob.

Rio noticed all of us and immediately smiled like nothing was wrong. I knew his tricks by now though. I could see that Rio was trying to hide his suffering for our sakes. He was so foolish when it came to trying to make himself appear stronger instead of admitting that he was just human. Although only half, he still had his limitations, which he simply refused to acknowledge even when his life was in grave danger.

This was one of those times that I knew Rio was in danger.

"Hello Carlisle, Alice, Edward," Rio said, kindly. "I was just about to clock out for lunch."

"We need to talk, Rio," Carlisle said, firmly. "We know that you're ill. Please, let me see what's wrong with you."

Rio looked surprised by the firm tone that Carlisle used against him. For a second, I felt power boiling up within Rio and I almost worried that he would strike us right now, in public. However, Rio managed to contain whatever energy was growing with him. It was then that Rio frowned as he surrendered himself to us.

"I'm so scared, Carlisle," Rio said, fighting tears. "I have no idea what is wrong with me. It feels like I'm dying. My powers are nearly out of my control and I can barely eat anything."

"It's alright, Rio," Carlisle said, hugging him. "We'll just go into one of the rooms so I can try and run a diagnosis on you. Hopefully, we'll be able to find out something sooner rather than later."

Rio nodded his head as he followed Carlisle into his office, leaving Alice and myself in the lobby.

For an hour we waited for them.

Alice and I sat beside each other, silent as we looked out the glass window. There were so many possibilities that surged around my mind. I thought of things from stomach flu to a virus to a vicious cancer that was slowly eating away at him. So many horrid things came to my mind and I felt guiltier with each thought that came.

The sliding doors swung open and I caught familiar scents. I looked up to see Jacob running inside with Charlie following behind him. Riley showed up as well with Bree following behind him. I only had to look at Riley to know that he was the one who brought them here. I felt stupid for not calling Jacob and Charlie myself to notify them that Carlisle was running tests on Rio to see what could possibly be the matter.

"Anything?" Charlie asked us. "Anything at all?"

"Not yet," Alice said, softly. "Carlisle will hopefully show up soon though."

Jacob just slid down against the wall, burying his face in his hands. The thoughts of a failure surged throughout his mind as I turned my head away with shame. I felt equally guilty for not doing something to help Rio sooner. I should've told them, I should've told someone the moment I realized that something was off with Rio.

Riley sat down beside me at this point. His reassuring thoughts tried to push themselves against the tide of thoughts that were coming from Jacob and Charlie. I even felt my own thoughts go silent as I looked up to see Riley smiling at me. His kindness touched my heart and soon I felt the newborn's lips touch my forehead as he soon held onto me.

And so another hour of waiting passed before anything happened.

Carlisle finally returned with a dazed Rio staring out into the void. Not knowing what was in the boy's thoughts was annoying at time, especially now that I had no idea what was going on. Carlisle had perfected blocking his thoughts away from me, more so then Alice ever could. I know I spoke for everyone there and those who couldn't be there in wanting to know what was happening to Rio.

But just as Carlisle was about to say something, Rio stopped him there.

"I want to say it," Rio said, his voice no longer sounding weak.

When Carlisle nodded his head, it was then I noticed the bag dangling in Rio's hands. I was wondering what was inside of it, but the items were covered so I couldn't tell what half of them were. I could only assume that they were pills of some sort. Had Carlisle found out what was wrong with Rio and found a way to treat him? I could only hope so as I waited with anticipation to hear what was happening to Rio.

Rio only stayed silent though as he went over to Jacob. The wolf sprang to his feet and I felt more psychic whiplash from them both. Now that they were brought together, even I could feel part of their imprint as they connected to one another. It was a level of power…no, not power. It was pure emotion, true love that tethered them together now. The connection was so strong that I knew that not even death could rip them apart from one another.

"What is it, Rio?" asked Jacob. "Please, tell me what's wrong with you. I vowed that in sickness and in health that I would always love you. Whatever it is, I promise that we can make it through this. I don't care whatever it is that we have to do, I will do whatever it takes to make you better. I won't let whatever is wrong with you be the death of you."

"Jake, there's nothing wrong with me," Rio said.

"Don't lie!" Jacob said, angrily. "Rio, I know that you're sick. Everyone can see that you're sick! Just tell me the truth already! I'm your husband and I demand to know what is wrong with you."

Rio only shook his head as he placed his hand on Jacob's mouth. He tried to whisper soothing sounds to the wolf and it was then that I saw the wall around Jacob Black collapse as he fell into a deep depression. Jacob was so scared of losing Rio that it was taking everything he had in him just to keep himself remotely together even right now. Even though he was losing all his sanity, he fought to keep even the slightest degree of control over himself.

"Jacob, I promise that I'm not sick," Rio began to say. "Carlisle found out what it is. He ran a few tests and well…I'm not sick and I'm not going to die."

"Then what is doing this to you?" Jacob said, tears welling up now.

Rio took one of Jacob's hands and placed it over his stomach. This seemed very strange to me until Rio said those fatal words. He said two words that I never, even in my wildest dreams, imagined that I would hear. Jacob was frozen by shock, more so then any of us when he said those words. By the look of shock on everyone else's faces, they hadn't expected this as well. Carlisle still bore the shock even though he had diagnosed this himself, and I'm sure he checked the results several times as well.

"I'm pregnant," Rio said, softly.

* * *

**Riley's POV**

Leaving the hospital, we left Rio alone with Jacob and his father. They had plenty of things they needed to talk about with this freaky revelation. Even I found it difficult to believe that it could be physically possible, which I was still struggling to wrap my head around. It made no sense to me at all.

How was it possible for Rio to carry a child if he wasn't born with the proper…parts?

I was sitting in the car, on the way back to the house, thinking about that one. I scratched my head, while Carlisle drove us all home. Now that I thought about it, this was probably more alarming to Rio and Jacob then anyone else. It was their child, I thought about how everyone would react to learning that Rio was carrying a child that was part-elf, part-werewolf, and half-human. Yikes, that would have to be one indestructible child.

Carlisle pulled into the driveway and we all started to make our way inside. I followed behind, noticing that Edward was dragging behind all of us. I tried to hide the displeasure I felt in my head as I kept moving onward. Edward was just concerned about a friend, at least that's what I tried to convince myself. It hurt to know that even now I still can't compete with the memory of Rio. Even though it was clear that Rio would never go back to Edward, I still had to compete with Rio to win Edward over.

Everyone was waiting for us inside. They all looked anxious to learn what happened with Rio, Esme looking the most concerned out of everyone. I looked over to Carlisle who was fumbling with the words, while Alice and Bree remained silent. Alice was probably trying to understand how she didn't see this one coming sooner.

I rolled my eyes as I got fed up with all of this. "Jacob knocked Rio up," I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Rio's pregnant."

"How is that possible?" Esme was the first to ask.

"Hey Edward," Emmett said, "so Rio was really born a chick but you just never told us?"

Carlisle interrupted before Edward would respond to that one. Even I had to hide the urge to chuckle at Emmett's dick of a comment. "It's not that simple, Emmett," said Carlisle. "I can assure you all that Rio is a boy. This pregnancy has to be supernatural in order to be remotely possible."

"But the better question is how is it possible?" asked Rosalie. "They're both human males."

"Correction," said Jasper, "they're half-human. They both have supernatural blood coursing through their veins. The mixture of the magical bloodlines must've done this to Rio."

"You're making it sound like you're the expert," Bree said, resting her head on the sofa.

"I'm hardly the expert," Jasper laughed. "It is only a theory, one I'm sure that Carlisle came up with."

"Maybe that's why I couldn't see it," Alice said, her back to the wall. "I've never experienced a pregnancy nor seen what it was like. Rio found another hole in my damn visions. With Jacob's blood coursing through the unborn child, I probably would've never seen this one coming."

"Damn this kid is weird," Emmett said, laughing. "Rio truly defies all of the rules of nature. He cheats death on a monthly basis, now he is carrying a supernatural baby. Let's hope he isn't carrying the Anti-Christ, otherwise we'll be totally screwed."

"Don't joke about that!" Rosalie snapped at her mate. "This is a blessing…Rio is carrying a new life. A baby is growing inside of him." The sadness in her voice alarmed me. I briefly heard her mumble of how jealous she was of Rio, which made me feel a kindred calling to her. At least I wasn't the only one who bore an inferiority complex with the half-elf.

I noticed that Edward was walking upstairs now. I guess hearing that his ex was having a child with another man was just too much for him to take. My hands tightened up against my jeans as I tried to contain the hate that I had for Rio. No, it wasn't hate. Rio was a good guy, I didn't hate him. I just hate the spell he had over Edward. No matter how hard I would try, I just can't compete with that perfect boy.

This frustrated me to the ends of the earth, making me jump up.

I walked away from the others, no longer able to stomach the conversation that they were having. I went upstairs to follow Edward into his bedroom where he was staring out the window. I didn't bother to hide any of my thoughts as I pushed the door shut behind me. He didn't bother to register my presence, but he knew I was there which was good enough…I suppose.

I just sat on the bed, glaring at him as he continued to look out at the setting sun. His perfect stillness was getting on my last nerve that I just couldn't take it any longer. I wanted to just yell at him, but Edward beat me to it when he finally said something to me.

"You don't have to tell me or think it," Edward said, softly. "I already know that this is sick. I need to stop thinking about Rio and actually move on. I need to act the part instead of just telling myself that I'm over him. But I can't just say I don't care for Rio anymore, not after everything we've been through. I do need to get it through my thick head that Rio is over me and I should move onto someone better."

"How many times have you told me that now?" I said, looking up to the ceiling. I stretched down on the bed with my back against the soft mattress. Our kind didn't sleep, but this was comforting to me though. I forgot how much I missed a soft bed with blankets and pillows sine the year I've been a raging newborn. "How many times have you promised me that you were over Rio? How many times have you told me that you were ready to be there for me? You know…you're starting to sound like her now. You're more like Victoria then you're willing to admit."

I was about to leave it at that, but Edward snatched me as I was about to leave the room. I didn't bother to look at him until I heard him pleading my name. Taking pity on him, I looked back at him to see a tear run down his cheek. What little…humanity I had left inside of me melted once I saw the pain on Edward's face. You didn't have to be a mind reader to see the suffering that was going on inside of him, a pain that even I could understand.

Edward pulled us together, holding me as tightly as he could. His strength was all around me and I felt something I hadn't felt in a longtime. I felt honest love. The last time I felt this was when I was human before I left for university, the day I said goodbye to my parents. The hug I received from my parents told me that they loved me no matter what. Words did no justice to their actions, words couldn't convey what they felt.

What Edward was doing was the exact same thing.

"You can't keep pushing me around, Edward," I said, hugging him back. "At least Rio wasn't using you. He actually did love you, but he let you go so that the both of you could find true happiness."

"I know," Edward whispered. "I know what you're saying is true. I just…I can't believe how cruelly I've been treating you. You compared me to Victoria…I must be a true, soulless creature to be compared to someone as evil as her. Will you ever forgive me, Riley?"

"Maybe," I said, trying to pull myself away. "Maybe when you finally can be with me then I'll forgive you. I know how I feel about you, Edward. I know that I'm in love with you, but I don't know if you feel the same about me."

Edward went silent at that point, probably unable to think of a witty comeback. I fought the urge to smirk because I finally got him. I managed to break free of his hold and was about to leave when he said my name, again. Part of me was screaming to get out of there, while the other part of me was telling me to stay and listen.

Being the romantic masochist that I am, I decided to listen to what he had to say.

When I turned around to face him, Edward jumped at me. His lips pressed against mine and I suddenly felt all my concerns melting away. Despite the way it was initiated, the kiss was very gentle and his cold lips pressed against my cool ones. I was dazing out of reality as I gave into the tender touch with my hands grabbing him by the waist to pull him to me. He had a hand on my waist with another grabbing onto my arm.

The kiss lasted for a while since neither one of us had to breath, but we pulled away to process what just happened.

"This means?" I tried to ask him.

"You're right about everything," he told me. "Riley, I don't want to let you go. I don't want to lose someone that I care about…who I think I love. I can't say it truly yet like you can, but I think I'm almost there. If you're willing to give me a little more time then I can be who you need. I can be a good mate for you."

"Another kiss before your friends show up might be a good way to prove that," I said, laughing a little.

He laughed too and I soon found my lips meeting his once more.

* * *

**Rio's POV**

Pregnant…I'm pregnant.

This was one of the most awkward weeks I've ever had in my life. Well, the past month has been a living hell since Jacob and I got back from our honeymoon. I felt nothing but a sharp pain pricking against my sides, my powers were growing out of my control, and my emotions were a wicked rollercoaster. I felt so bad for everyone I had been taking it out on, especially my poor Jacob who's been more then great through all of this.

Now at least things made sense, as much sense as my life usually made. I don't know why I was surprised when Carlisle told me that I was carrying a child inside of me. He originally thought of using the ultrasound to see if there was an ulcer or something in my stomach, but low and behold it turned out there was a child inside of me. A new life was growing inside of me…our child.

Yeah, I'm happy about having a kid, but I never imagined it would be so soon. I also thought we would need a surrogate mother or we'd just adopt. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I was going to get pregnant and end up carrying the child. Ugh, I so wasn't looking forward to the labor since I had no idea what to expect throughout this entire pregnancy.

At least the stuff that Carlisle gave me, which he gave to his pregnant patients, did help to take some of the pain away. Knowing what was going on with my body did help to make all the pain go away some. I understood what was going on and now I felt a little better prepared to deal with it. That's how I tried to convince myself at least. With all honesty, I am scared shitless of what is growing inside of me. This child is a blessing, but I'm too scared of being a parent especially since I have no idea what to expect.

The child of a half-elf and a werewolf…I'm afraid to see what I'll give birth to.

Freyr wasn't much help either. I hadn't heard from the god in such a long time that I was beginning to consider going to an actual church to see if I could get the Almighty to talk to me. Somebody needed to explain to me what the fuck was going on. I need to have some clue about having a child since it's supposed to be physically impossible for a male to carry a child. The only theory I had is because of all the magical blood between Jacob and myself had to make this possible.

Jacob took finding out that I was pregnant surprisingly well. Stupid wolf, I wish I could be more excited about this, but I'm the one who is going to have to carry the damn kid for the next nine months or however long it would be. Jacob didn't know it yet, but he was going to be carrying this kid whenever he/she decides to come out. Wolf boy needs to hold up his end of the parental stick.

Even Charlie an everyone else's reactions were surprisingly comforting. After the initial freak-out to the fact that I was pregnant, they all managed to move passed it. Charlie was excited to know he was going to have a grandkid, a biologically his grandkid. I got a lot of congratulations and Emily was already planning my baby shower. Oh well, at least I'd get some free stuff to make things a little better. I like getting free stuff.

I got dressed to see Tanya and her coven for the last day they were staying with the Cullens. I had been avoiding my other family, with the exception of Carlisle, simply because I needed to deal with human world for a little bit. I wanted to meet the famous Tanya though so I managed to find some time out of my usually busy schedule and even succeeded in dragging Jacob to go as well. Note to self, whenever Jacob is being all grumpy or doesn't want to do what I want then I only need to say I'm having your kid.

Jacob is such a sucker for kids.

When we both finished getting ready, Jacob drove us to the Cullen's home. He wasn't as upset about going since most of the negativity he had for the Cullens had gone away since the Victoria Incident. There were still some prejudices buried inside of him, but I managed to keep them at bay by reminding him that I chose him.

The minute we parked the car, Alice was already waiting for us outside with a beautiful, blonde haired woman. If I wasn't so used to all of these beautiful vampires then I probably would've gone into shock. Jacob didn't seem fazed at all by her beauty, but I think that had more to do with the imprint. He would never see anyone as being beautiful except for me and that was all that mattered.

"Hello Rio. Hello Jacob," Alice said, kindly. "This is Tanya. She's been wanting to meet you for a longtime now, Rio."

"Sorry about not being able to show up sooner," I said, nudging Jacob in the ribs. "You know how husbands can be."

Alice nodded her head, while Tanya only smiled at me. Tanya was a thing of beauty just like all the other vampires I had come into contact with. Her hair was long and curly, strawberry blond, but her golden eyes spoke that she was truly an ancient being. She didn't seem as old as the Volturi, but I was willing to be that she was probably as close as you could get.

Tanya took a few steps away from the doorway and held her hand out to me. "Hello Rio," she said, softly. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. My sisters and I have heard so many stories about you from Carlisle and Esme. You look far stronger then they described you. No doubt this new strength must be coming from the child growing inside of you."

"You know I'm pregnant?" I said, my voice full of shock.

Jacob's body tensed up as he feared that something might happened. Alice intervened at the perfect time as she told us that they had told Tanya and her covens so that they wouldn't be any surprises.

"My sister's mate has the ability to read powers," Tanya informed us. "He would've been able to see the child growing inside of you. I'm sorry if I startled you both, it was not my intention to worry you. Forgive me."

"It's alright," I said, relived now. "Right Jake?"

"Of course," Jacob said, still playing nice.

We went inside to see the other members of Tanya's coven. The rest of the Cullens were there with two women and a man who I had never seen before. I had to assume that this was the rest of Tanya's coven, although, I was surprised to see the man there. Nobody ever told me that a man had joined their coven.

Had I still been with Edward, I would've been very much intimidated by the beauty of the women. I heard that some of them had often flirted with Edward and I remembered that he stayed with them for a while when we first met. I tried not to think too much about those days though as I returned my thoughts to my happy marriage to Jacob.

"Carmen, Kate, Eleazar," Tanya said, calling for her coven's attention, "this is Rio and his husband, Jacob."

One of the women was fairly bold as she made her way towards us. Like the others, she bore golden eyes that signified her being a "vegetarian" vampire. Her hair was blond too, long, and straight as corn silk. She had a fairly lean figure, but I could tell that she had the look of a fighter.

"So this is the big, bad half-elf," said the woman. "We haven't seen elves in centuries, let alone a half-breed."

"Easy Kate," said the other woman. "Let's not scare him off, especially since his husband is a werewolf." I assumed this one to be Carmen. Unlike Kate and Tanya, she had long dark hair that contrasted with their typical beauty. She had a hint of an olive skin tone that made her look a little more different then Tanya and Kate.

The man joined Carmen with a hand on her waste. By this simple PDA, I could tell that Eleazar was Carmen's mate. Like a lot of the other male vampires I've encountered, he was very handsome but he had the look of a predator in his golden eyes. He had an olive skin tone like Carmen and equally dark hair only his hair went to the collar. He was fairly tall too, briefly reminding me of James, but the nice version.

"Nice to meet you all," I said to the other members of Tanya's coven.

Kate and Carmen returned the pleasantries, but Eleazar had his eyes glued to me. I gulped as the first thought that came to mind was that he was about to attack me. I shook it off though, but I worried once more when I noticed that he was looking at my stomach. Jacob must've felt the fear because he was growling as he put himself in front of me.

"Quit staring, parasite!" Jacob roared, old habits coming back.

Eleazar shook his head and averted his gaze from me. He met Jacob's eyes with a soft frown gracing his pale face. "I apologize, I did not mean to frighten you," he said, his voice full of compassion. "It's just…the child. I can sense it, I can see what is doing to Rio."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him.

"Your own elven powers are growing because of the child," said Eleazar. "We managed to find legends of the elves back in Alaska. They had a settlement there before the Volturi either killed the elves or forced them to flee to another dimension. Anyways, your powers are growing to new levels so that you will be strong enough to give birth to the child. The magic of your unborn child is doing this to you."

"Damn, Rio gets all the cool superpowers," I heard Emmett say.

"Would you want to be pregnant?" Jasper asked.

"Never mind."

I tried to laugh, but the thoughts of my child messing with my powers kinda worried me. I wished that there was somebody here to explain this all to me. It would be nice if my mom was aware of her powers that way I might have known something to expect. Even Jacob had more to go with then I did. The wolves had all those legends and stories from their tribe to at least teach them some of the things about what they were.

I had nothing, I was totally on my own.

"Where's Irina?" Edward spoke up. "Did she return to Denali after all?"

"Yes," said Tanya, "she wasn't comfortable being here because of Rio."

Before Jacob could go hostile again, I pulled on his arm to fill him in. I explained how Irina became Laurent's mate before his death. I also told him that when Victoria was coming at us that Irina wanted a chance to kill the wolves in order to avenge Laurent.

"I'd like to see her try," Jacob hissed. "I would've been able to take her. I have no regrets for killing Laurent, he tried to kill you."

"We understand that too," Tanya said, speaking up. "We tried to convince Irina to listen to reason, but…she's been difficult to say the least. I hope you bare no ill will towards us for not helping you to battle the newborns."

"It's alright," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I would've probably felt the same. At least you didn't let her come down here and attack."

"It was difficult to keep her restrained," said Kate, "but I managed to keep her down."

Jacob had just thanked them for that favor, which made me proud of him. Before I could come up with a witty joke to make fun of him though, I noticed Alice go still. Everyone noticed this and I immediately felt my heart sink as I saw something fearful in her eyes. Her hands were shaking in a way that I never saw before when she had a vision.

When it was over though, I assumed, Alice gave out a loud shriek. She covered her mouth to cover up the scream, but there was no hiding it.

"What did you see, Alice?" Esme asked. "Is it…was it that bad?'

Alice was shaking her head though as she collapsed onto the sofa behind her with Jasper holding onto her. I could tell by the concentration on his face that he was trying to calm her down. What I wanted to know, and so did everyone else, was what she saw. What was so terrifying that it was making Alice act like this.

So I turned to the one person who would know, Edward.

"What was it?" I asked him.

Edward was shaking too, the same fearful look gracing his face as well. Riley was standing beside him and so was Carlisle. Edward finally shook his head though to snap out of it before looking at Tanya. "Irina didn't go back to Denali," he announced. "She went to Italy. She telling the Volturi that…she's announcing Rio's pregnancy."

"God no!" I said, covering my mouth.

Tanya and the rest of her coven looked utterly frightened by what Edward just said. So was everyone else in the room. Even Jacob looked worried since I had explained just how terrifying and powerful the Volturi were. Jacob wrapped his arms around me as I shook uncontrollably, all my thoughts going back to what the Volturi would do to me now that they knew I was carrying a child.

"The Volturi are coming here in nine months," Alice said, softly. "Irina told them everyone that Rio married Jacob and how he has werewolf blood. They want to see the child of a half-elf and a werewolf with their own eyes. They…they want to take the baby."

"No!" Jacob's voice literally shook the entire house. "Those bastards won't touch our child."

"We promise that they won't, Jacob," said Carlisle. "We will do whatever it takes to keep Rio and the baby safe."

"Allow us to help too," said Tanya. "Irina…she disgraced us by doing this to you. She is no longer welcomed amongst our family. We help you to keep the Volturi away from Rio and their child."

Carlisle and Jacob simply nodded their heads in agreement.

I could hear everyone trying to come up with a plan to hide, but they ignored one key fact.

How do you hide someone from the strongest and oldest vampires in the world?

* * *

**Seth's POV**

The news of these Volturi people spread like a wildfire. Jacob filled me in when I crashed out at their place that night and he called Sam to have an emergency meeting that morning. Before going to sleep though, Sam called me so I could fill him in. Sam decided to have a meeting earlier than the one that Jacob wanted because the pack needed to make a big change. When Sam told me what he had planned, I was awestruck to the point where I thought he couldn't be serious.

I hung up on Sam and went to sleep with a major surprise in store for Jacob.

When morning came, Jake and I went over to La Push to have the meeting with the rest of the pack. Everyone was already waiting for us by the time that we showed up, but it was nothing new. Jake and I had the longest commute to the pack since we had to run all the way from Forks in order to reach the others.

"_So the Volturi are after your unborn child,_" said Sam. _"How many do the Cullens think are coming?"_

"_All of them," _Jacob announced. _"The Volturi will bring an army to deal with us. They've been wanting an excuse to go after Rio again since he's the last elf on the planet. Now that he's carrying my child, they want to use our baby as a trophy."_

"_Sick bastards!" _Leah growled.

"_We need to do something about those leeches,"_ said Paul.

"_Let's kick some ass!"_ said Embry.

"_Yeah!" _agreed Quil.

"_What do the Cullens have planned, Jake?" _Sam asked.

"_They're calling in some friends. They're going to bring other vampires into Forks who owe them favors or have a grudge against the Volturi. Basically, they're gathering their own army to protect Rio and our child." _

"_I'm not going to get excluded from this fight!" _Paul shouted. _"We need to defend our land and families as well!"_

"_That is not a decision I can make,"_ said Sam. _"The treaty cannot be broken by me. It can only be broken by a descendent of Ephraim Black." _The big, black wolf made his way over to Jacob, stopping only inches away from him. A soft bark escaped him, but his mental voice was loud and clear to everyone one of us. _"Jacob, I cannot do anything to protect Rio or your child. Only you can do something about this."_

"_What's that supposed to mean!" _Jacob growled.

"_I mean you need to accept your destiny, Jacob Black," _Sam said, calmly. _"You are the grandson of Ephraim Black, the previous Alpha. Your blood is stronger than mine, you're more directly connected to our powers then any of us. Jacob, if you want to save Rio and your child, then you must become Alpha. I cannot do anything to help you so long as I'm Alpha."_

"_Listen to him, Jake," _I said to my brother-in-law and best friend. _"Jake, being an Alpha has always been your destiny. Even when Sam and Jared barked around orders, we all felt the pull to listen to what you had to say instead. You need to accept who you are just like Rio has expected being half-human and half-elf."_

Jacob began to scoot away from the rest of us. This was probably way too much to lay on his shoulders. First, he married and imprinted on Rio, sharing their lives together. Then, Rio got pregnant and is carrying their child. Next, the Volturi is coming after his family to take them by force. And now, he had to be responsible for all the Quileute wolves in order to save his husband and their unborn child.

A great howl escaped Jacob as his thoughts rushed passed all of us, overwhelming us with grief and worry.

"_Fine!" _Jacob said, firmly. _"I, Jacob Black, accept my duty as Alpha of the pack as the oldest grandson of Ephraim Black."_

From out mental-link, I knew that everyone else felt exactly what I felt. The energy around us all began to shift around us, especially around Sam and Jacob. The wind blew hard at that moment and our connection changed. I dropped completely dropped to the ground along with everyone younger then I was. The others were struggling to keep standing, but soon they all bowed down until Jacob was the only one left standing.

Jacob howled once more, but now as the Alpha of our pack.

"_I've never been more turned on by you, Jake, then right now," _laughed Embry.

"_That's Alpha Jake, dude!" _Quil said, joining in.

Everyone laughed, well, with the exception of Jacob and Leah.

Jacob just walked around all of us with so many thoughts rushing all around him. We could all tell that he felt immensely different then he used to just a minute ago. He was the Alpha now, our true Alpha which meant so much more. Not even Sam could compete against that now that Jacob had finally accepted his birthright.

"_Shut up with the birthright shit, Seth!" _barked Jacob. _"You're sounding like my dad and Sam."_

"_Shutting!"_ I said, grinning at my Alpha.

Jacob managed to crack a wolfy smile too as he walked back to Sam. Jared was standing beside our former Alpha, thinking about how he was no longer Beta of the pack since the balance of power had shifted. That was something else we needed to deal with now. Jacob needed a Beta to lead the pack, which meant an opening for applications.

Embry and Quil were already doing their "good boy stance" as they sat down. I followed their lead and got between them both, my tail wagging with anticipation. No way that Jacob wasn't going to pick me as the Alpha. Come on, I've always been there for him!

"_Leah," _Jacob said to my sister, "_will you be my Beta?"_

Fuck my life!

"_Alright," _Leah said, plenty of evil thoughts brewing in her mind.

Great, Jacob turned my sister into a power tripping freak. We're all screwed now. We're all going to die whenever Jake was away and she was on her period. Oh wait, Leah stopped doing that since become a wolf.

"_Keep rubbing it in, Seth, and I'll kick your ass!" _Leah growled.

"_Be nice," _Jacob said, causing my sister to can it. _"Leah, Seth, we're going to go back to my place. I need to see if Rio has had any luck communicating with Freyr."_

We agreed with our Alpha and took off running, while everyone else was probably heading over to Sam's place.

As we ran through the woods, I immediately noticed something. Jacob seemed so much stronger now that he was the Alpha, while Leah was running twice as fast as usual. I guess the powers of the Alpha and Beta had done that to change them. I just frowned at the thought that Jacob chose my dang sister of me. That wasn't fair, I was sane unlike her and everyone loved me.

Hmm, maybe that's why Jake didn't pick me.

In no time at all, we made it to the house and quickly shifted back into human form. Jake and I quickly got dressed, while Leah changed in the woods. We made it inside of the house to find Rio sitting on the couch with Alice and Edward in the house as well.

I quickly ran over to the Cullens, hugging the both of them just as Jacob went to check Rio.

"What is it?" Jacob asked him. "Did Freyr speak to you?"

"We need to leave Forks," Rio said, his voice soft but firm. "You and I need to go away someplace."

"Where?" I asked. "Where are you hiding?"

"Not hiding," Rio corrected me. "I'm going to receive proper training."

"But where can you go for that?" Leah asked. "Freyr is on another plane of existence and there are no elves on Earth."

"That's why I'm leaving," Rio said. "Jake and I are going to get help. We're going to Alfheim to bring the elves back to Earth so that they can help us to stop the Volturi."

The room was silent as Rio made his announcement. Alfheim, I remember Rio telling me about it once. He said that it was the city that the elves escaped too when the Volturi drove them away from this world. It was close to Asgard, which was the world that the Norse Gods lived in, including Freyr.

"I want to go too!" I shouted.

The words had escaped me before I had the chance to think about what I said. Everyone was looking at me like I said something utterly stupid. Well, to them I probably did say something stupid.

Rio just smiled at me though as he got up from the couch. "Alright then," he said, happily. "You can come with us to Alfheim. We need to hurry though. We only have one chance to open the portal."

"Where's the portal?" Jacob asked.

"At the meadow," Rio said, simply.

He started to make his way out of the house and we followed him blindly to this meadow.


	20. Breaking Dawn IV

Author's Note: So like I'm getting really tired from all this writing I've been doing. I think my brain is about to explode. On my profile, there's a link to my deviant art profile, if you follow it then you get to see some artwork I did for this fic. Anyways, that's all i really needed to say. Read and review please.

**The Elven Kingdom:**

**Rio's POV**

Everyone was surprisingly silent as we made it to the famous meadow. Years ago, I thought this was just some random spot that Edward found that we started to use as our getaway spot. That felt like a million years ago, I had to laugh at how young I was when that happened. Now though, I knew the truth behind the meadow that it was far more special then I could ever have had imagined.

The meadow was where I was conceived and, according to Freyr, this was also the spot where the elves fled to Alfheim. I stood at the center of the meadow where I finally understood the powerful connection I shared to this spot. Everytime I was here, I always felt stronger and more in control of my own life. Now it made so much sense to me, the reason I felt stronger was because this spot was littered with the magic of the elves.

I took a deep breath, recalling everything that Freyr told me to do.

His vision was still clear in my mind as I finally made contact with the god while Jacob and Seth were at their werewolf powwow. I told Freyr everything that happened and how the Volturi were after us now. The god gave me specific orders to take Jacob and go to Alfheim where I could safely deliver our child as well as receive the proper training from my elven brethren. The god even had hopes that I might be able to sway his children to renew their connections to the Earth once more.

Long ago, the elves were the protectors of the wilderness of the planet. Their very existence healed the damage done by man, but when the vampires (Volturi) began to hunt them, the elves were forced to flee to their capital in a dimension away from earth. And the result of this was the steady decline of the trees, the water, and the animals.

Freyr wanted his children to no longer hide in the safety of the other realm, but to reunite with their previous home.

"So how do we get to Alfheim?" Seth asked as he stood beside Leah and Jake. "This is a pretty meadow and everything, but I don't see how we'll get to another world from here."

"Don't be rude, Seth," Jacob said, his voice oozed a new display of strength. That new power peaked my curiosity a little too where I was just about to ask what had happened.

Leave it to Leah though to beat me to the punch. What she said next left me in a temporary state of shock. "Listen to your Alpha, Seth," Leah laughed. "He might tell you to go sit in a corner." I saw the smirk gracing her lips, while Seth looked up towards Jake to see him shaking his head.

I approached my husband, curious as to why Leah called him Alpha. "You didn't do anything to Sam, did you?" I asked. "You didn't hurt him just so you could become Alpha?"

"No way, Rio," Jake told me. "Sam said that he couldn't do anything to help us, but he said that I could do something." He wrapped his arms around me and gently held onto me. I looked into his brown eyes to see that he was being honest with me. "If I was going to keep you and our child safe then I had to accept my birthright and become Alpha. So, I finally took the job and Sam can finally chill out some. Oh, Leah is my Beta too."

"You're completely insane," I told him. "Why did you chose Leah of all people to be Beta?"

"Don't make me kick your pregnant ass," warned Leah.

"Try and you die, Leah," growled Jake. He returned his gaze onto me and his features softened as he looked at me. "I know she can keep the others in line, more so then Embry, Quil, or Seth could. There was no way in hell that I was going to pick Paul to be Beta. Sam and Jared were kind of looking to retire anyways."

"Well, alright then," I said, kissing his cheek. "I knew you had it in you, Chief Jacob."

He laughed as I brought up the old joke.

Edward and Alice reminded us that we needed to hurry to Alfheim though.

I nodded my head as I pulled away from my hubby. I stood at the center of the meadow and took in a deep breath. "This spot is one of the few points on Midgard that connects us directly to the World Tree, Yggdrasill," I told them. "From here, we can journey to the other Nine Worlds, but we're going only to Alfheim, the World of the Elves."

"How are you supposed to open the gate though?" asked Alice. "Are you supposed to say hocus pocus or something magical maybe?"

I only shook my head at my dear friend. I bent over to pick up a rock and scrapped it against my hand to cut it open enough to cause blood to flow. Alice and Edward immediately flinched by this action, while my werewolf family stayed perfectly still. I probably should've gave them more warning about this, but I had to peel the band-aid quickly to make this work.

With my bloody hand, I touched the ground to form the symbol of the god, Odin. The symbol was of three triangles linked together to form the Valknut. I stood up to step away from the symbol as my hand began to heal itself with magic.

My overprotective husband rushed towards me, touching my hand just as my magic sealed the wound. He sighed before kissing it as he looked over to the bloody mark on the ground. "Is that it?" he asked me. "I was kinda hoping you would start speaking in tongue."

"Don't be a smartass," I said, shaking my head. I ignored him so I could focus back on the ritual I needed to complete. I held my hands up now and called forth my magic to briefly leave my body. "Alfheim."

The minute the word escaped my mouth, a column of light rose up from the ground. The light seemed to touched the clouds itself, but I couldn't be certain of that. All I knew was that I had done, I cheered with joy as I opened the portal to another world.

Seth appeared beside me, nearly giving me a heart attack since I didn't notice him standing there. "I was expecting something a little cooler," said Seth, "but not bad at all, Rio." He patted my shoulder before he started to walk towards the portal. "So, shall we go?"

"Wait," Jacob shouted at him, causing Seth to freeze up. He turned around to Leah and instructed her to watch over the pack while he was gone. "I want you to work with the Cullens too. We're going to need all the help that we can get in case we can't convince the elves to come here. I trust you to keep everyone in line, got it?"

"I understand, Jacob," Leah said, nodding her head.

There was no way she was getting out of this one since she swore the oath to her Alpha.

I simply smiled at Edward and Alice as I waved at them both. "Tell Charlie that I'll be back soon, hopefully," I said, laughing a little. "With any luck, he won't freak out that badly!"

"Like that will happen," said Edward, "but we'll explain it to him. Just be careful, all of you."

"Of course!" cheered Seth. "Can we go now?"

I nodded my head and Jacob followed me as I lead the way to the portal. Seth sprang after us both until the three of us were standing in front of the portal. With a heavy sigh, I grabbed onto each other their hands to be certain that we wouldn't get lost. Jacob and Seth squeezed tight to show me that they wouldn't let go.

With that done, the three of us left Forks and began our journey to Alfheim.

The minute we entered the portal, everything was a complete blur for us.

All we could see was blinding light that never seemed to end. I held back the urge to scream and so did Jacob, but Seth was cheering at the top of his lungs. He wouldn't shut up about how exciting this was until Jacob yelled at him to be quite. I could tell this was difficult for Seth to stay quiet, but the Alpha's command couldn't be ignored. I just pray that Jacob wouldn't let this new power go straight to his head. Lord knows he can't afford an overly, inflated ego.

What felt like hours came to an end as the light became a forest.

I almost thought I screwed up the ritual until I noticed that these planets didn't look like the ones back in Forks. Everything was so beautiful. The trees seemed to be as tall as mountains and flowers grew in every possible direction. I could hear rushing water in the distance as a gentle breeze blew against my flushed skin.

This had to be it, this had to be Alfheim.

"I think I'm going to hurl!" Seth said, dropping to his knees. "That was a really bad rollercoaster ride."

"Nobody forced you to come," Jacob reminded him as he pulled him up.

"I couldn't leave the two of you on your own," said Seth. "What if the elves were hostile? I wasn't going to leave my step-brother, brother-in-law, and unborn niece or nephew in danger."

"How noble of you, Seth," I laughed, while taking hold of Jacob's hand.

Jacob seemed to relax with my touch as he began to smile. He finally let the excitement of being on another world to sink into him. Him and Seth both share the same expression of childlike wander on their faces as they looked around the woods. I couldn't help but to smile as well as I looked up to see the birds flying above us.

This place was so beautiful and we hadn't' even gone far into Alfheim yet.

I snapped out of this trance though as I reminded Jacob and Seth that we needed to find the elves. They returned to reality as well as they tried to figure out what direction we were suppose to go. I thought about that too, scratching my head as I looked up to the tall trees. I was kinda of expecting to land near a gate or something close to the elves.

Damn the half-ass instructions I got.

I started to walk forward, just following what my instincts were telling me. I dragged Jacob along with me and Seth walked freely behind us as he kept looking around the scenery. Not much had changed since we began to walk, but eventually we finally saw the outline of something that caught our eye.

The three of us stood completely still as we saw a large, wooden gate with a forest city and a small, palace-looking structure behind it.

"That's pretty cool," said Seth.

"I'm guessing this is it?" said Jacob.

"Let's see if they'll open up," I said, approaching the large gate.

I could only pray that the elves would be friendly.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

They were gone almost instantly.

Rio, Jacob, and Seth were probably at Alfheim by now. There was no chance of us chasing after them since the portal that Rio opened with his blood sealed itself off as soon as they were gone. I had to hope that Rio knew what he was doing as I left with Alice. Leah chose to run to report to the other wolves about this latest alliance.

Alice and I drove back home, but I was too lost in thought to be much company. I was worried about them all, about all of us to be more exact. The Volturi wouldn't stop coming after Rio unless there was something powerful protecting him. I doubt that even a threat from Freyr would be enough like it was for the guard. Aro, Caius, and Marcus didn't like to be told what to do, but they could be intimidated to behave.

If Rio couldn't convince the elves to return then he was better of remaining in Alfheim forever.

But I still didn't think just the elves, some werewolves, and a coven of vampires would be enough to do anything about the Volturi. We needed something to more that would really make the Volturi worry about losing their control. If we could prove ourselves strong enough to overthrow them then maybe that would be enough to keep the Volturi away from Rio.

"They're beyond my sight now," Alice said, loud enough to catch my attention. I looked over to my sister who was staring at me as she drove. Had Rio been in the car, she would've been panicking since he didn't trust our senses. "I can't have visions of any of them no matter how hard I try. Even the blurs I could sometimes have aren't even there. They've been completely erased."

"I guess that means they're at Alfheim, right?" I asked her. "You don't think something went wrong, do you?"

"I'm sure they're alright," said Alice. "Let's hope that Carlisle has figured out something to do about the Volturi. I'm drawing in a million blanks."

Well, I guess we were certainly doom if not even Alice could point us in the right direction. Then again, Rio seemed to defy all the rules even when Alice couldn't see him or saw his death. Everything seemed to just work in the end, so I had to trust that Rio could pull through with one of his stupid miracles.

If anyone could pull it off, I had faith that he could.

The two of us left the car to rejoin our family inside the house. Tanya's coven was still there and I was immediately ambushed by everyone asking questions about what happened. They all saw a column of light; they just assumed that Rio had some kind of involvement in all of this.

"They left for Alfheim," Alice said, summing up everything. "Hopefully, they'll be able to drag the elves back here so that we can have an army to fight the Volturi."

"An army of elves?" said Tanya. "That would be…remarkable. The elves had been gone for so long. Our kind nearly wiped them out from existence; I wouldn't doubt that they would want some kind of retribution."

"Let's hope they don't direct that towards us," said Emmett. "I would hate to see what a full blood elf could do. Rio already freaks me out."

"Remember, he's carrying Jacob's child now," laughed Jasper. "I would be more terrified of what's growing inside of him.

Emmett just shivered before leaving the room.

I looked over to Carlisle and asked if he a plan yet. Carlisle kept his thoughts so well concealed from me that I stood no chance of figuring out what was going on in that head of his. I waited, praying that he knew of what we could do to keep the Volturi away from us and to keep Rio and the baby safe.

Carlisle just stayed silent for a moment before taking a deep breath. He sat down on the couch, still keeping his mind guarded from me as Esme joined his side. "There is one thing we can do," he said, calmly. "I've already called some old friends who owe us a favor. My hopes are that we can gather enough forces to show the Volturi that we won't allow them to take Rio and his child. I doubt a few vampires will be enough though in case Rio can't get the elves."

"It's a good thing that Jake sent the wolves over then," I told everyone. "Jacob replaced Sam as the Alpha. He has the La Push wolves now working alongside us to keep the Volturi at bay. Do you think that might be enough?"

"Considering how much Caius fears wolves," said Carlisle, "it couldn't hurt. No doubt that more wolves will spawn if I bring in more allies. This could only help."

"Who have you called?" asked Tanya. "Anyone I should worry about?"

"I called assistance from Amun, Siobhan, and the Romanians," said Carlisle.

Tanya's eyes widened, which worried me. She wasn't concerned about Amun and Siobhan since she knew them well enough. But when Carlisle mentioned the Romanians that's when she began to fear for the very worst. I tried to dig my way deeper inside those thoughts, but there wasn't any need to do that.

Tanya began to spew curses in several different languages, half of which I couldn't understand at all. It took Kate and Carmen to keep Tanya from getting to violent. "You called Vladimir and Stefan!" she shouted. "Are you insane, Carlisle! Those two cannot be trusted. All they care about is reclaiming control of the vampire world from the Volturi.

"Which is exactly why they'll help us, Tanya," said Carlisle. "It will be enough to strike fear in the Volturi and hopefully spare us from a full-blown war."

"Like that could be avoided," said Kate. "The Volturi are waiting nine months before showing up and they no doubt know that we know about them coming. They want us to fight them. It's an excuse for them to go to war with us."

"You're right, but we need their expertise and power," said Carlisle. "There is no other choice."

Everyone seemed to agree before parting ways for now.

I felt relieved to know that Carlisle had something up his sleeve now. I looked back to see that Riley was standing by a corner with his head turned to the side. Somehow, I just knew that I was going to have to do a lot of ass kissing. He was probably mad at how concerned I was for Rio, while I didn't pay enough attention to him.

While everyone went away, I reached out to take Riley's hand. He didn't fight my touch, he even smiled as he took my hand. I was relieved to see that Riley wasn't mad with me so I escorted him outside where we could talk alone.

"Was it cool?" asked Riley.

"Was what cool?" I asked.

"That freaky light show thing that Rio did," said Riley. "We saw the light all the way over here, how did he do it? Did he invoke some demonic god or spoke an elven tongue?"

"No," I said, much to his disappointment. "He just cut his hand and wrote with his blood then said 'Alfheim'. Nothing too fancy."

"He did magic with his blood?" asked Riley. "That's kind of cool."

"You're starting to sound like Jasper and Emmett now," I laughed.

Riley laughed too as he leaned his head against my shoulder. He held onto my hand with his newborn strength still coursing through his veins. It made me laugh at how he tried to overpower me, I squeezed back to prove that I was strong as well. Riley smiled at me and just remained silent as we looked up to the sky.

Well, this certainly wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting Riley to yell at me, not be all romantic with me. This was a nice change so I just stayed silent and went with it. I listened only to his bubbly thoughts and felt grateful that I was actually able to do something to keep him happy for once.

"This is nice," Riley whispered. "I could just sit here with you for a long time."

"Too bad a war is coming," I said, softly.

"Don't you like fighting though?" Riley asked. "Before you changed, you wanted to be a soldier in the first World War. Isn't this like the next best thing?"

There's something I didn't think too much about.

A light chuckle escaped my throat as I thought about what Riley said. He did have a point, I should love fighting if I so desperately wanted to go to war when I was a human. "It's a little more complicated than that," I told him. "I wanted to enlist not because I love fighting, but because I had something worth protecting. I wanted to protect my family and everyone I cared about."

"What about now?" he asked. "What do you fight for now?"

"The same," I told him. "I fight to protect my family, my friends, and the one I love."

I took his hand and kissed it, proving my point that it was him that I loved.

Riley smiled at me and returned his head to my shoulder and looked up to the stars that were beginning to shine above us.

* * *

**Jacob's POV**

I kept my eyes peeled as I looked around at the elves that began to emerge from the various points of the town/city/whatever this was. I put myself in front of Rio and Seth, watching as the elves watched us carefully. My body was just itching to do something, but I didn't want to provoke them to attack if they weren't going to do so. So I waited until something happened, I just wish that I knew what I could expect.

As soon as we had crossed the gate, the elves started to gather to see the intruders.

The elves were kind of what I was expecting to see, yet they were different. They didn't look like they did in "Lord of the Rings", but they weren't too far off from that look either. Most of them looked fairly human except with sharper features, their ears were pointed, their eyes had more vibrant colors, and they all appeared to be fairly lean but radiated with a great deal of power. They dressed like how we did probably in the Middle Ages, but that was about it when it came to the obvious differences.

"Stand down, young ones," said the voice of a woman. An older elf emerged from the crowd, wearing gray robes that covered most of her body. Strange markings covered her face and her hair was the purest white I had ever seen. She was old though, older compared to the youthful looking elves, probably by like our standards of a fifty-year old woman.

The elf woman looked at me then at Seth before settling her sights on Rio. She stepped a little closer and I kept myself between them so that she'd take the hint and explain herself. "No need to fear," she spoke, calmly. "We have been expecting you. I had received revelation from the Father that you were coming."

"Who might you be?" Rio asked. "Are you the leader of the elves?"

"No, Halfling," she said, sounding very kind and formal. She seemed a little odd, but had this motherly air about her that made me relax a little. "I am the Keeper. I protect the traditions and heritage of our people for over a thousand years. As for my name, I am known as Marethari."

"I am Ilario Black-Swan," Rio said, introducing himself. "This is my husband, Jacob Black. And this is my step-brother, Seth Clearwater."

Marethari stared at the both of us for a moment before nodding her head. I was confused to why she did that, but she explained herself before I could say a thing. "They bare the spirits of the wolves with them," said the Keeper. "You have chosen an interesting mate, Ilario. Your brother by marriage is very particular as well. I'm assuming that the both of you are part of the same tribe?"

"Yes," I said, for the both of us. "We are from the Quileute Tribe. I am the Alpha."

"It has been a long time since I heard that name," said the elf woman. "The last of our children told me of your tribe. I owe your people a debt of gratitude for keeping my children safe from the fangs of the immortals, the vampires."

"That's why we're here actually," Rio began to say.

"I know, child," said Marethari. "You need to speak with King Authion to settle that matter. Follow me to the palace."

The Keeper turned to lead the way to the castle in the middle of the forest. Rio was following right behind her. Seth and I caught up to them both; I kept my eyes on the elves who were watching us like a couple of wolves in sheep's clothing. I should've known better. They probably could see exactly what we were because of their magic.

But I thought my people and the elves were allies? Even the Keeper made it seem so since she said she owed our people a debt for protecting the elves. I don't get why they're giving us the stink eye then. The story from my mother's journal even said that the elves were friends with us until they left for Alfheim.

I perished the thought though as we finally arrived to the palace. Marethari lead the way with all the elves who stood guard in their armor moving aside for us. She took us to a chamber that had a massive, stainglass mural on the wall where a large chair was in front of. The castle wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I was thinking a little more King Arthur style.

The Keeper stood aside as we finally reached the center of the chamber. Rio continued to stand in front of us and I saw the three figures before us. A man sat at the large chair with a young man and a young woman at his side. The man was no doubt the king that old woman mentioned only a few minutes ago. He was dressed a little more formally, yet he looked ready for combat in the red robes he wore with a silver crown on top of his head of black hair that went to his shoulders.

This man bore no expression on his face as he looked at us. He simply exhaled a great breath with his hands resting on the side of the throne. "I am King Authion. I am assuming that you are the Halfling that the Father told us was coming?" asked the deep, voiced king.

"Yes sir," Rio said, his voice trembled a little. I took a step forward and held onto his hand to keep him strong He briefly smiled at me before returning his gaze back to the king. "My name is Ilario Black-Swan. I was instructed to leave Midgard receive training as well as to safely deliver my child."

I looked over to the king who simply nodded his head at Rio. He rose up from the throne and began to take a few steps away from his throne. "We know who you are, young Rio," said the king. "The Father told us about you, we've been watching you for a while now." The king sighed before shaking his head, a smile gracing his lips. "You have an affinity for getting yourself into trouble. We are aware of the threat that the Volturi brings, but we weren't aware of the child you are carrying now."

"This is nothing to be afraid of, child," said the Keeper. "The blood of our people courses through your veins as well. Our magic has allowed you to support this child just like the magic allows all full-blooded elves to sustain life."

"So my pregnancy is normal then?" Rio said, laughing a little. "Good to know."

"It's normal to an extent," said the young woman. "There is the fact that your mate holds the spirit of the wolf alongside him." She descended the throne with a smile gracing her lips as well. She was beautiful, for an elf. Her long, blonde hair flowed down her back from what I can tell and her blue eyes sparkled like sapphires. A green dress fitted her figure well with a silver crown, similar to the one the king wore was on her head as well. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Arwen, the Princess of Alfheim." She raised her delicate hand up to gesture at the young man still standing by the throne. "The silent one over there is my younger brother, Prince Ruscion."

That's when I took notice to the young man. He was a little larger than most of the elves I've seen, defiantly bigger then Rio was. If I had to guess, I'd say he was about physically the same size as Jared and Embry, not too big but not too scrawny either. He had black hair similar to his father, except it was cut shorter to about his ears. He was incredibly handsome thanks to the sharp, elven features he bore and the intense green eyes that spoke for him.

The prince huffed at his sister as he joined his family, but remained silent.

I heard a gasp for breath and immediately turned to see that Seth was frozen. It lasted only but a second, but I could tell that something happened to him at that moment. I would have to talk with the pup later to see what had just happened to him.

"So this is him," I heard Princess Arwen say.

"Excuse me?" I asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

It was the Keeper who stepped forward as she drew closer to the circle we formed. She touched Rio's cheek for but a second then touched the cheek of the king. "His blood calls to your blood," said the Keeper. "Authion, it is true. This is your brother's great-grandchild."

"Huh!" Rio said, his voice echoed.

"My younger brother resided on Earth when it was still safe for our kind," King Authion said, his voice filled with sorrow. "He even mated with a human woman before he died. You have royal blood in your veins."

Holy shit, I married a prince.

I looked over to Rio who had a nervous smile on his face. Seth still had his gaga eyes on so I'm not exactly sure how much he picked up from this. I looked over to the princess and prince who looked equally surprised. The king, he still bore no expression other then the sad voice he had when he spoke to Rio.

"Excuse me," said the king. "I must go now. Ilario, we will talk more later. Marethari, I trust you to answer Ilario's questions about the child he is carrying."

King Authion left it at that as we disappeared in a flash of magic. The prince vanished as well, probably to join his father, while his daughter stayed behind. Seth seemed to snap back into reality the moment that the prince left, which I thought was really strange.

The Keeper stayed with us though and just smiled as she waited for Rio to speak.

"So I get married and get knocked up then get the most powerful vampires in the world to want to capture me and find out I'm an elven prince or something," Rio finally blurted out. "Am I all caught up now? This is starting to get a little too weird for me, and I like to think I have a high tolerance for weird things considering everything that's happened to me since I moved to Forks."

Princess Arwen just laughed as joined the Keeper's side. I held onto Rio as he gave out a heavy sigh to finish out his mini rant. It was better that he let it all out now then keep things bottled up for too long.

"Do not worry, young one," said the Keeper. "Your son will be safe."

"Son!" Rio and I blurted out at the same time.

The Keeper nodded her head as she stepped forward to touch Rio's stomach. A smile graced her lips as she pulled her hand away and looked at the both of us. "He is growing stronger everyday thanks to the love you share," said the Keeper. "It is rare for two halves of a single soul to find their way to each other, even amongst our kind. Your child shall bare the best of both of you, but his elven blood shall be weaker due to the blood his father."

"You saying I got bad blood?" I growled a little.

"No," the princess said for her. "It's just that your blood is stronger, at least the mystical part of it. Your child will bare more of your power then Ilario's powers. As the years pass though and if you two decide to have more children, there will come a day when Ilario's elven blood will overpower your own."

"Oh," I said. "Rio, can you dumb it down for me?"

Rio sighed as he patted me on the chest. "This kid will be more wolf then elf," he said, simply. "Maybe if, I don't get your fixed, the next kid might have more elf blood than wolf or the blood will be even on both sides. Did I get that right?" That last part was more direct to the Keeper then to me.

"Yes child," said Marethari. "That is correct. I can explain more to you later, but I must go now. Princess, I trust that you shall escort our guests to rooms they may rest in."

"Of course, Keeper," said the princess. "I shall show them to their rooms now."

The Keeper nodded her head and left us in the care of the princess.

She showed us to the room that Rio and I would share then took Seth to his own room. Rio and I collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to even look at our new surroundings. We were only going to be here for nine months, long enough for Rio to train and to deliver the baby. Hopefully, we could convince some of the elves to come back to Earth with us.

Somehow, I felt like that was going to be a long shot.

* * *

**Seth's POV**

My heart felt like it was pounding against my chest everytime I caught even a glimpse of him. He was so handsome, but I felt stupid because I didn't know a thing about him. I wanted to say that this was just a crush and that it would probably go away in a couple of days, but two weeks had passed since we arrived to Alfheim. This feeling I had growing inside of me only felt worse as the time passed by us.

I had no clue what to think or say other then I truly did like Prince Ruscion. These feelings I had weren't going away, they only got stronger with each passing day. He didn't even realize I existed though so I couldn't say like it was as if I imprinted on him. Maybe I was just deeply in love with him like Rio had fell in love with Edward pretty much the first time he met him.

The only difference, I could admit my feelings to myself at least.

There was no way this could be an imprint though. At least, I thought it couldn't be possible, but then I thought about Jacob and Rio. They had been together for almost two years yet they didn't imprint until the moment they were married. I've been meaning to ask the Keeper about that, Jacob seemed to forget all about that though.

At least, I was going to tell her, except I was distracted by Rio's training. He was almost two months, yet he showed no signs of being pregnant except for his mood swings. I was completely enthralled because Rio was training with the prince today. Ruscion looked remarkably handsome in the tight, fitted leather he wore, which showed off the cutness of his arms and legs. I had to cross my own legs together to hide the shame I felt as I hid myself in the distance.

Ruscion trained Rio along an empty field. I kept my distance from them, sitting beside a tree with the birds chirping above us. My mind was gone as I saw Ruscion move with such graceful speed. Granted, I had seen how the vampires run, but it was different compare to an elf. They were both graceful creatures, but the elves displayed more an innocence as they ran and their movement was far less seductive then that of a vampire. It was hypnotic though and I found myself lost in Ruscion's movements as his hips swayed as he moved himself away from Rio.

"You're improving too slowly," said the usually silent prince. His voice was like a chorus of angels, well, the meaner kind of angels that show up on Supernatural. Ruscion's voice was a little deep like his father's, but it still had youthfulness to it. "A vampire can easily snap your neck at this rate. Even Halflings can slay an adult vampire if they truly put their mind to it."

"I get as far as hurting them before I pass out," Rio said, dropping to a knee. "How am I supposed to kill one? I'm not exactly super strong or super fast. I just have a lot of dumb luck."

"Which is why you need to learn to use your magic to make yourself stronger like the Halflings before you did," the prince said as he pulled Rio up. "Augment your magicks into your own body to make yourself physically stronger. Turn yourself into a weapon. Try to hit me again."

I didn't see what Rio did to Ruscion because a hand suddenly touched my shoulder. I held back to the urge to yelp as I turned around to see that it was Jacob. I immediately blushed for being here, but Jacob wasn't that observant, even for an Alpha, to notice that. At least, I hoped his powers of observation hadn't improved since becoming Alpha.

Jacob just remained quite as he took a seat beside me. Ruscion said something about Rio actually improving and a smile appeared on my step-brother's face. I caught sight of Rio's fist glowing so I'm like guessing that he managed to pull off hitting Ruscion. I, unconsciously, tightened my fists, clinging onto the fabric of the shorts that I received from the elves.

"He just keeps getting stronger," Jacob suddenly said. "It's good to know that he's finally learning how to protect himself. I can worry about him and the safety of our child a little less."

"Didn't Rio say he had a vision of you and him having three kids?" I asked. "Do you think this has anything to do with it?"

"Oh yeah," Jacob said, smiling at me now. "I'm rooting that this pregnancy won't be too horrific for him. I always felt that three is a good new number of kids to have."

I laughed before looking back at the prince, focusing on his movements as Rio tried to catch him.

Jacob pulled me away from my thought cloud though. He called me out again, forcing me to listen to what my Alpha had to say. He wasn't as rough and commanding as Sam was though, Jacob's commands always felt far gentler, controlled then Sam's. "You've been acting strangely lately," Jacob said. "I've noticed you haven't been eating as much and you seem to stare off into space more than usual. Is there something wrong? I also saw you gasp for breath when we first met the royal family. Did something happen that I should know about, Seth?"

"Nothing," I blurted out. "Nothing's wrong. Just…me being me."

"Seth, you know you can tell me, right?" said Jacob.

"Yes," I said, but I turned away from him, unwilling to answer his question.

I heard Jacob take in a breath. I prayed he wouldn't use his Alpha Voice against me. Jacob seemed good about respecting a person's privacy, he couldn't let this Alpha thing go straight to his head. It was with my relief though that Jacob just sighed and remained silent.

Lucky for me, things didn't remain silent for long. Marethari decided to show up at that moment to speak to Jacob and me for a moment. Jacob jumped to his feet to greet the Keeper, and I followed my Alpha in his steps.

The Keeper looked at the both of us for a moment like she was analyzing us. I hated when she did that, it felt so creepy like she was trying to use x-ray vision against us. I just felt so violated afterwards. "No need to worry, children, I just wanted to confirm my suspicions," said the Keeper. "I have seen your power for myself and I can see what you truly are."

"Yeah, we're werewolves," I said, fairly bluntly.

"No, you're not," corrected the Keeper. Jacob and I were about to argue, but she kept us silent simply by raising her hand up. She walked over to the tree that we had sit beside only a moment ago and touched the thick bark. "Your powers originated with the spirits of nature, hence why you're people were first known as Spirit Warriors. You are different from the Children of the Moon, who you know better as werewolves. They follow the legends of the werewolf, you and your tribe are something else entirely."

"Then what are we?" Jacob asked.

"Shape-shifters," said Marethari. "You posses the ability to shift into any physical form that you so desire. It just happens that the wolf is the strongest and easiest form for you to become. You could so chose to shift into any living animal or even a person with the proper training."

I paused for a moment, letting Jacob do what he had to do. So we were really shape-shifters. That certainly explained a few things. At least we weren't werewolves, I wouldn't have to worry about ever howling at a full moon or getting shot by silver bullets. Wait, how do you kill a shape-shifter then?

"Would mastering this make my stronger?" Jacob blurted out. "If I can learn to shift into anything, will that help me protect Rio and our son from the Volturi?"

"It will help," said Marethari. "The training though, it is difficult and painful. If you are willing though, I can help you with this difficult process."

"Alright then."

Jacob followed the Keeper without any hesitation. I knew that his will to protect his growing family was stronger, but he didn't ask any other questions about how dangerous it was. I just stayed behind, watching as Jacob walked away with the Keeper.

Rio popped up behind me, asking what happened to Jake. I just pointed him to the direction of the Keeper and told him that he was going to train too. He followed their trail, leaving me alone with Ruscion. I felt my heart pounding against my chest so loud that I feared that he might hear it, I knew I would've died of embarrassment then.

But the prince was only silent as he looked at me for a second. He turned and walked back towards the palace and I felt like a total idiot for this. I told him to wait for me before running in his direction, remarkably though, he actually paused to wait.

"I get lost easily," I told him, trying to play it cool. "I have no sense of direction."

"That's fine," Ruscion said. Wow, he actually spoke directly to me. He was usually so silent, I had only heard him speak to Rio, the king, and his sister. I tried not to stare at him, but I couldn't help it as I found myself gazing at him. I think he noticed because he turned his head towards me then looked away. "Is there something wrong? You tend to stare at me a lot."

"It's nothing," I lied. I knew I had to be blushing like an idiot. My cheeks felt so damn hot, more so then my hundred and eight body temperature. I felt like I was boiling. God, I am such a dumbass. "So…um…Prince Ruscion, what do you like to do for fun?"

Ruscion slowed down for a moment as we got closer to the palace. He was probably thinking I was creep, damnit Seth, why can't you do anything right? I wanted to hit myself so badly at that point, but Ruscion only turned his head to another field. "I like archery," he said, simply. "I can show you the field. Have you ever used a bow before?"

"Never," I told him.

"Would you like to learn?"

It was like a date or anything special like that, but the helpless puppy that I was said yes a little too ecstatically. I followed Ruscion as he led me to the archery fields to show me how to use a bow.

At that moment, I was just so happy that I felt like I could explode at any second.

* * *

**Riley's POV**

One month had passed since Rio, Jacob, and Seth left for Alfheim.

Since then, we have done a lot of training preparing for the Volturi's upcoming arrival. Bree and I were working a lot together since we had a feeling that the Volturi wouldn't hesitate to destroy the two of us because of Rio. It was his actions that spared us from that vile Jane woman who was hell-bent on killing the both of us. She would no doubt try again if she was going to be at the fight as well. I prayed she would be there, I wanted the chance to kill her myself.

Anyways, we've been making a lot of preparations for our little war. The Irish Coven had finally arrived, which was beginning to take up a little more space in the Cullen home. I guess that would be a problem if any of us had to sleep, but it wasn't so, no harm no foul. There was only three of them so I didn't exactly see how they would be that much help to us.

Their leader was a woman named Siobhan. She has a huge body, not like fat or anything, but she powerful. She was a beautiful and mesmerizing creature to watch as she moved around in way that I could not seem to comprehend. But her most dominate feature were her large, violet-blue eyes that I couldn't believe any vampire could really. She also had a unique ability, she seemed to have a talent for manipulating outcomes into a way that she favored. Although, she didn't see this as a gift, but Carlisle tried to assure her otherwise.

Siobhan's mate was a man named Liam. He was very tall and had an imposing on someone, kinda of like Eleazar, except Liam was leaner and a bit more muscular. His eyes weren't as vibrant as Siobhan's so I paid them no attention.

The last member of their coven was a young woman named Maggie. She was far from frightening like the other members of her coven. In fact, she appeared nothing more than a child, especially with her bouncy, red curls. She almost reminded me of Victoria, physically since she was short, small, and thin. The only difference was she seemed honestly sincere. At least she had an interesting ability, she had her own built in lie detector.

But that was all, now I was just waiting for Edward to come back.

It was getting late and I knew how the La Push pack didn't like to be around us at night. The legends, I suppose, were something that bothered them a lot. Edward had left with Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper to go training with the wolves. They were going to show them how to properly fight the Volturi since they were only experienced with dealing with newborns. I also heard that a new wolf had joined the pack since the Volturi situation began. If I remember correctly, they said he was seventeen years old and he was adjusting fairly well.

Other than that, I was pretty much kept in the dark, literally. With everything that was going on, I just felt like I was slipping down a never ending slope with only darkness to look forward to. Wait, that didn't even make any sense. What type of crap ass analogy was that? Well, at least now I know why I majored in Pre-Med and not in Literature.

I gave a sigh of relief when I smelled that his scent was close. Edward didn't keep me waiting much longer after that. He blurred into the room and I tossed my arms around him with a sudden burst of energy. I held onto him, knowing that we didn't have much time left as the Volturi were drawing nearer with each day that passed.

"I've only been gone a couple of hours," laughed Edward. "You act like you haven't' seen me in days."

"Don't mock me," I told him. "You know as well as I do that we won't be together for much longer. The Volturi are coming here, a war will start, and some of us won't survive it."

"We'll make it through this," Edward said, holding onto me. "I'm sure Rio will managed to bring the elves then we won't have anything to fear."

"Prove it then," I said, pressing my lips against his.

He responded and kissed me back. He flicked his arm back to slam the door shut before I dragged him to the bed. Slowly, we began to peel our clothes off of each other until we were completely nude.

I kissed Edward one last time before he pushed my legs apart and took me. I gave out surprised gasp since I had never felt such a feeling before. Edward was gentle though and it made me enjoy what he was doing all the more. The both of us were moaning softly to make sure that we didn't catch the attention of everyone in the house.

I turned Edward around, pulling him out from inside of me. We rolled around on the bed for a while until I had Edward on his side with his back pressed against my chest. I pushed my way inside of him, gently though, until I was all the way in. We both groaned with pleasure as I took Edward. He was panting as I pushed deeper inside of him, he had his hand on my waist while the other was touching my arms that I held him close with.

This was perfect.

We both gave out a content cry of pleasure before it came to an end.

I kissed Edward's neck and he kissed my hand as we finally relaxed onto the bed.

* * *

END!

Okay, so here's the mental image I have for the elven royalty. For the king, I kinda picture Liam Nelson because he can literally play any part and make it a badass. For the princess, I was thinking of Dianna Agron (SP) from Glee because she's pretty. HAHA. And for the prince, I was kind of thinking of Jared Padelacki (Super SP) from Supernatural because...because he's just so damn hot!


	21. Breaking Dawn V

Author's Note: Once more, I can tell you that I'm exhausted from writing another chapter. There's only two chapters left until I'm done with Blue Moon. I know, so sad! The next chapter will have the big showdown with the Volturi. I promise it won't be as big of a letdown as the book's showdown was...like seriously, why fucking hype up a battle then do absolutely nothing? At least one person could've gotten slapped to make it a little interesting. That was my little rant. Read and review!

**Life is an Ultimatum:**

**Jacob's POV**

For months, I spent most of my days with the Keeper opposed to being with Rio. I focused all this time in finding a way to protect my growing family from the Volturi. My days became focused on mastering the full potential of my abilities as a shape-shifter.

All of the legends said that we were werewolves that evolved from spirit warriors. It turned out that all of those legends were wrong; my tribe were shape-shifters. Our connection to the wolves just happened to be the strongest which is why we always became wolves. I was regaining an art lost to my tribe before we could even learn to master it. That is why I was always with Marethari, I needed to master the shifter powers to be able to protect Rio and my unborn son.

The screams that tore through my throat every time I tried to change into a new form were ear shattering. The pain of trying to change my body though I couldn't even compare to anything else I felt. The venomous bite and my back shattering from the newborn and even first phasing into a wolf was nothing compared to this. All this pain was completely unbearable and there was nothing I could do to make it hurt any less.

Marethari was with me every step of the way though. She did everything that she could to help me through this difficult time, Rio and Seth were there for me whenever they could, Seth more since Rio was dedicating his time to his own training. I was even graced with the presence of the royal family who watched me carefully as I tried to accomplish this. In the end though, it was all on me, I was the only one who could accomplish this pain.

With one last yell, I forced the change upon myself. The animal I had in my mind was a hawk, a deadly bird that I could see Rio as. Marethari told me that in order to complete the change, I had to focus on the animal or person I wished to look like. The shifter in my blood would then create the physical change necessary to take that form. I kept the mental image strong until I felt something happen to me, I felt a change take place in my body. Different from what I experience when I became a wolf, yet it felt the same still.

To prove if the change worked, I tried to move my body. I felt odd and off balanced until I saw that I had wings now. I tried to look at the rest of my body to see the reddish-maroon color of my feathers. I hopped on my talons and flapped my wings, circling around the Keeper's small chamber. A smile was drawn on her face as I flew around the room, I had a smile in my head as well as I finally accomplished the impossible.

I had mastered my power, I had become a full-fledged shape-shifter.

I felt worthy of calling myself Alpha.

My bird body landed on the ground once I felt that I had shown off enough. I closed my eyes and focused on becoming human once more, which was easier then changing into a bird was. I felt the painful shift of my body as I grew back into my natural appearance. I felt so exhausted though as I fell to the ground with Marethari running towards my side, draping a cloak over my nude body.

"You have done remarkably well, Jacob," said the Keeper. "I didn't think you would be able to do it in such a shot amount of time."

I was gasping for air as I struggled to pull myself up from her earthy ground. I wrapped the cloak around my exposed body and stared at the Keeper with my jaw dropped. "Please tell me you're joking right?" I told her. "I've been training for almost seven months! You think that seven months isn't a long time? Rio is about to give birth any day now, which means the Volturi is going to come after us not long after that."

Marethari nodded her head as she helped me stand on my feet. I felt her elven magic touch my body, it was similar to what I felt when Rio used his magic. The tingling sensation healed the exhaustion that had consumed my body, something she had been doing since I began my training. I looked at her, waiting for her to explain herself once more.

"You misunderstand me," said Marethari. "I did not mean this as an insult to you. I only meant that you know nothing of this power. I had my doubt that you wouldn't be able to master this power with so little time before the Volturi strike. I am proud though that you have mastered it though. Now, I have a feeling that you will be able to defend your family from the Volturi. You should be able to teach the rest of you tribe to master this power by spreading this knowledge onto them."

"Good job, Jake!"

I took in the familiar scent after my initial shock passed. The Keeper and I looked back to see Seth standing by the doorway of the Keeper's chamber. His curiosity was killing him as he looked into the ancient chamber of the elves' Keeper of the Traditions. I admit I was fairly curious too as I looked around, finding the ancient items in the Keeper's room to be interesting.

The only thing that seemed remotely personal was the small bed she had in the corner of the room.

Marethari smiled as she placed a hand on Seth's shoulder. I noticed the way she looked at him, which made me wonder what type of magic she was doing. Seth seemed equally as confused too until the Keeper finally pulled her hand back, but kept that mysterious smile on her face. This time though, I had a feeling she wasn't going to spill any beans so I kept the questions I've just been dying to get out of Seth to myself. I didn't want to pry too much on his personal life, at least not more than necessary.

"You have a question for me, Seth?" asked the Keeper.

Seth blushed a little bit, probably since he failed to remember just how intuitive the Keeper was. Marethari wasn't mind-reader good, although I think she could read minds if she chose too, but her instincts were spot-on. Seth kicked his feet on the dirt as he found the courage to speak in front of the ancient elf.

"Well, I've been kinda wondering about Rio being pregnant and the imprint," said the boy.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Seth," I told him.

Marethari turned towards me with her hand raised up. She continued to bare a smile on her face before returning her attention to Seth. "He means not to pry, Jacob, he only wants to know," said the Keeper. "You both must understand this connection, it is important for Rio to know as well. I will tell him later though since he is still training with Princess Arwen." She approached her bed and sat there with the two of us looking at her with much curiosity. "Elves are immune to imprints, which is why I mentioned before that it is so rare for two halves of the same soul to find each other like you and Rio had. His human-half no doubt made a connection between the two of you more obvious, but it would've never been known unless you already swore your lives to one another."

"What does that mean?" I asked. "This is a little vague to me."

"Let me make it a little clearer then," said the Keeper. "If you did not have the ability to imprint then you would've never known you two were soul mates until after you were wed. When an elf swears their marriage vow to another then they tie their lives to that person for life. The same is true for half-breeds like Rio, but only if they had accepted their magic the way he had. From what he told me, his mother never embraced her magic so her vows were never life-binding. Since you two also share souls, the union between the two of you is unshakable, it will make you both stronger as the years pass as well."

"Then how did Rio get pregnant?" asked Seth. "He's half-human, and human males can't get pregnant. Can all male elves get pregnant?"

"You're a little noisy, Seth," I told him.

"Sorry," whispered Seth, "I just…I just really want to know."

The way Seth was behaving was a little more than suspicious to me. He was making me wonder just what was going on in that head of his. It took me a minute, but it made me wonder if his questions had anything to do with the prince. Seth had been hanging out with Prince Ruscion a lot lately. No! Seth has a crush on him? Wait! Seth is gay?

I kept this to myself though, for now, as I listened to what the Keeper had to say next.

"The old magic within us makes almost anything possible, even among the Halflings," said Marethari. "Rio was more likely though to conceive a magical child due to the thrice elven blood in his veins. He carries the magicks of his grandfather and mother as well as his own. All that magic makes Rio have the potential to be as strong as a full-grown elf. But I digress, Rio, even as a half-breed, could possibly carry a child within him on the full moon. If a full-blood or half-blood male were to have sexual relations with another male, human or elf, then it is possible for that elf to conceive a child. You and Rio must've had sexual intercourse on the full moon, which is why you're here now."

"Full moon," I whispered to myself, "got it."

Marethari simply nodded her head when the door to her chamber swung open. We all looked to see the prince standing there with his face pale as snow. I caught sight of Seth who was bright red now that the prince was here and even tried to hide his face a little. Holy shit, he did like the prince, I was right!

But I shook off my rightness to look at the frightened prince. Ruscion looked as if he ran away from some horrific monster, which really made me wonder what happened. Marethari took initiative by asking the prince what was wrong and the prince spoke the words that made my heart explode.

"Rio has gone into labor," said Ruscion.

That's when I felt Rio's pain shouting throughout every end of my body. I sprang to my feet with the cloak barely covering my body as I ran through the halls of the palace. Seth, the prince, and the Keeper were running after me. I ran across the palace, following the pull of the imprint to find Rio.

My feet blindly took me to our bedroom just in time to here a loud, painful scream. I knew that it belonged to Rio, and I barged into the room without wasting any time. I nearly crashed into King Authion as I joined Rio who was on the bed, holding onto his very pregnant stomach. The princess was on the other side of the bed and whispered calming magicks to him.

I joined Rio on the bed and grabbed onto his hand, calming the urge to scream next. Tears were running down his face as he turned to look at me. I could feel the pain that he had just melt away as he smiled and rested his head against my arm.

"You took your sweet time," he whispered.

"I'm sorry, love," I told him. "So the baby's coming."

Rio nodded his head and cringed with pain just as the Keeper got in the middle of all this. Princess Arwen left Rio's side as Seth took over instead, taking hold of Rio's other hand. We both held onto him as Marethari told Rio to breathe. Soft breaths escaped Rio's mouth as the pain that the baby's arrival caused to lessen to a degree.

Marethari told him to release his magic. I was thinking that she should be telling him to push, but I remembered that Rio wasn't anatomically correct for that. Although, he did seem to grow a bit of a bust, making me wonder if he could breast feed now. I shook off that thought and watched as the Keeper placed glowing hands onto the belly of my husband.

"What are you doing!" I shouted at her.

"Pulling the baby out," said Marethari. "It will harm neither one. Magic will not harm Rio or your son, trust me, young one."

I looked to Rio who only nodded his head at the Keeper. I agreed to this as well, focusing on keeping Rio calm and steady as the Keeper's hands entered his body. Rio's skin was practically glowing as more sweat began to grace his skin. A painful gasp escaped his lips and then I heard it, I heard a loud scream as swirls of magic expelled from Rio's body.

The scream was loud and strong, it brought tears to my eyes.

I looked over to the Keeper and saw the swirls of light gathering around a small bundle in her arms. She shushed the light as it gathered and took the form of a small child, our child. Marethari smiled as she got closer towards us, presenting a very naked and a very loud baby boy to us.

"Congratulations," said the Keeper. "He's a healthy, baby boy."

Rio and I practically exploded with joy as Rio took our son in his arms. Seth even squealed as he caught sight of our little boy. He was so tiny and his skin was a little dark like mine. There was even a bit of dark hair on his head. I couldn't see eyes since he refused to open them to look at us. But boy did he have some powerful lungs. Our little boy was screaming as if somebody was trying to murder him, I couldn't help but to laugh though as I touched his soft skin.

"Hi baby boy," Rio said, tears all over his face now.

"You're so handsome, little one," I said, my voice cracking with tears.

I turned to Rio and the two of us briefly kissed for a moment. We parted to look at our son who had finally decided to open his eyes. They were so big and brown, I could not deny that he wasn't my son. He looked exactly like I did when I was a baby. This was my little boy.

"Jayden," Rio and I said, together.

* * *

**Riley's POV**

As the months tolled past us, the rest of our vampire had gathered in the Cullen's home. I had already been impressed by the Denali and the Irish covens were impressive, the Egyptians topped all of that. The Romanian coven though, it was only two, but they were far more frightening than the others. The minute I met the Romanians, I saw the very legends of the Transylvanian vampires being born.

Carlisle gave me a brief history of the Romanians before their arrival. They had been the center of the vampire world until the Volturi overthrew them. It was very medieval how it happened and horribly bloody with these two being the only survivors of the Volturi gaining total domination of the vampire world.

Vladimir and Stefan are ancient vampires, more so then any of the others I have met here. Both were kind of short and fairly slight, but that didn't make them look any less intimidating. Their burgundy eyes spoke of the many lives they had taken and the former power that they both once had. Their powdery skin texture seemed almost delicate to the touch, but it spoke of a hidden strength underneath it all. Vladimir and Stefan even dressed similar with the only difference between the two being that Vladimir had ashy blond hair while Stefan had dark hair.

Now for the Egyptians, this consisted of four vampires all of which were mated. From what I got from Carlisle, the Egyptians were on par with the Romanians for domination of the vampire world until the Volturi changed all of that. Even the Egyptians' powers were diminished in this usurp of power, but they didn't seem to mind it as much as the Romanians who were hell-bent on having revenge.

Their leader is a man named Amun, who I wouldn't trust to be anywhere near me. He is a paranoid, outspoken man who just rubbed my skin the wrong way. He was olive-skinned like the other members of his coven with black hair. He wasn't as terrifying as the others, but I still had my guard up around him, more so then I did around the Romanians.

He had a mate named Kebi, she was exceptionally quite though. I could not deny that she was a very beautiful woman. There was nothing out of the ordinary about her, other than her beauty which I think rivaled that of Rosalie's.

Another woman was part of the coven, her name was Tia. Her midnight-colored hair made her look like death-incarnate, I was even a little nervous to be around her for too long as well. She was beautiful as well, but not nearly as much as Rosalie or Kebi.

Then there was her mate, a man named Benjamin that Amun coveted above all else. Benjamin was a handsome, boyish-looking man with midnight colored hair and a cheerfulness that rivaled Seth, but that wasn't what was so special about him. He had an incredible power, he could control all four elements of nature, which was why Amun made him in the first place. Amun tried to keep Benjamin on a short leash, but not even their leader could completely control his adventurous nature.

The size of vampire army had grown with the promise of more vampires coming as Carlisle and Jasper worked on finding more "friends" to come to our aid.

Not to mention, we had the wolves fighting alongside us as well. Leah led the other wolves around the house to get used to us and to hopefully squash any idea of fighting between the two species. She believed that this would be what Jacob would've expected from them as well since she was bound to following the strict orders of her Alpha. I still had a hard time wrapping my head around Jacob being Alpha since he behaved more like a kid than anything else. I guess getting married really changed a guy.

But I noticed two more additions to the La Push pack. They were both boys, which was making me wonder what kind of freak that Leah was to be the only girl wolf. Both boys were older then Seth, but around the same age as their previous new addition so they would be strong enough to hopefully be useful when a fight breaks out between us and the Volturi.

It was just pure insanity now as more vampires and wolves made their way into Forks, but it was something that I had come to accept since I wanted to keep Rio and his unborn child safe as well. I didn't want Edward to suffer from losing someone he cared so much about. I no longer felt that completion between him also since I knew in my heart that Edward was mine now.

I brushed off the remains of the bear blood I had on my lips as I entered the house. I had gone hunting with Carmen and Eleazar, so now I was no longer starving or borderline insane. Carlisle seemed to think that the last of my human blood had finally succumbed to the vampire. I no longer had my newborn strength, but at least I was a mature vampire by now. Hopefully that would make me a little more useful in the coming battle.

"You're an impressive hunter," Eleazar told me. "You have an amazing amount of self-control, more then I had seen in any other vampire, mature or newborn. That can make you into a very deadly fighter in time."

"Thanks," I said, fighting the urge to smile.

We entered the house to be overwhelmed by the bustling number of vampires in here. I lost count, but I knew there was over a dozen of us. The Volturi would've had us completely outnumbered if it wasn't for the ever growing population of wolves. With all of these vampires showing up, more members of the Quileute tribe were phasing to counteract the growing threat.

I just hoped that my surprise for Bree didn't get all mangled up in all of this shit.

Myself, I got away from the overgrown population to find some solitude upstairs. I was so close to getting away too when I nearly ran into Vladimir and Stefan. The creepy Romanian vampires that just could not take a hint that I was not interested in joining their coven.

"Did you enjoy your hunt, Riley?" asked Vladimir.

"Feeling stronger?" asked Stefan.

These guys always gave me the creeps no matter what they said. Especially, now that I knew of their gender preferences, thanks to Edward's mind reading talent. "It was filling," I told them. "Now excuse me. I'd like some time to myself."

"Of course," Vladimir said, pulling his partner aside.

I wasted no time in coming up the stairs and getting as far away as I possibly could. I ended up in Carlisle's study, which no one seemed to go into now that all of this drama had begun. It was the only place in the entire house where I could just sit there quietly and think to myself.

With a heavy sigh, I collapsed onto the sofa that was placed against the window. I looked out to the setting sun and tried to take in Edward's scent, but he was nowhere near us. He did mention that he was going out on a hunt with Jasper and Emmett, they must've already been gone by now.

So I just sat there alone, staring out the window like a love-struck teenager.

"What's up, Mr. Broody?" Alice jumped from practically out of nowhere. I scolded myself for not sensing her already in the room, while she just collapsed on the other end of the sofa. "I'm pretty bored. Jasper's gone hunting with the guys. His old friends, Peter and Charlotte, just showed up too. They've been wanting to see him since it's been so long."

"The nomads that he used to live with?" I asked. "I thought they were hostile?"

Alice shook her head as she leaned her head against the arm rest. "They're pretty harmless," she told me. "Don't tell anyone, but I had a vision of Rio."

"And?"

"He might be coming back soon, I don't know how soon though, but its soon. It's still too blurry though since Jacob, Seth, and the baby are around him. I think I'll wait by the portal when I get a clearer date so I can get them back here as soon as possible."

"Good idea," I told her.

She barely withheld a smile before jumping back onto her feet. She pulled my leg, dragging me off the sofa before I could even have a second to register what she just did. "Your guest is almost here," she said, laughing as I fell. "He'll be here in about a minute. You should go greet him."

Alice took off with blinding speed, which pissed me up as I got back up. I brushed my pants and shirt, simply out of habit, before running out the door to find him.

I barely made it outside when I felt another presence coming in. It was one I was familiar with, but nobody else in the house knew about this scent, Bree being the only exception. She wasn't here though since she went out with Rosalie and Kate. She was in for a nice surprise though since she hadn't seen him since…Victoria sold us all out.

He finally made it, I smiled as he nervously drew closer towards me. His curly, thick blond hair had been cut much shorter, but the curls were still present. He is just as freakishly tall as I remembered him with his massive broad shoulders and far more muscular physique. His eyes were crimson which reflected off his pale skin, but it wasn't frightening as some of the vampires here.

"Hey," I said, softly. "It's been a long time, Fred."

Fred nodded his head, but still bore no expression on his face. His arms were crossed over his chest and I could tell he was deciding if he needed to use his repulsion power against me or not. "Where's Bree?" he asked me.

"She went out right now," I told him. "Do you want to meet the others?"

"I'm only here for Bree, remember?" said Fred. "I don't want to fight your battles."

"That's why I'm trusting you to keep Bree safe with your powers," I told him. "I don't want Bree to get involved with this fight. I don't think she'd survive if she had to face them."

Fred only nodded his head once more before finally caving in. He asked to meet everyone so I dragged him into the house where he could meet our vampire army. He looked so amazed as he met everyone there, now the Romanians had another vampire that drew their freakish attention.

About an hour past before they finally returned, the minute Bree entered the house her eyes met Fred. She practically screamed as she threw herself at him and found herself taken into a massive bear hug. The both of them looked so happy to see each other again, yet I felt a familiar pain because their circle remained incomplete.

I said a silent prayer to Diego as I wished that he could be here right now like he deserved to be.

* * *

**Seth's POV**

Butterflies fluttered around my stomach as Ruscion held me in his arms.

Alright, I shouldn't make this sound like something it wasn't. He was only holding me steady as I was armed with a bow and arrow in the archery fields of Alfheim. Ruscion had spent the last couple of months teaching me how to use a bow when he wasn't busy with his princely duties or helping Rio train. That attention shifted a little more when Rio got a little too pregnant to risk the safety of Jayden with physical combat.

Now I pretty much had the prince all to myself, except for when tomorrow rolls around. Rio would resume his old training and Jacob would be the primary caregiver of their son. I felt a little sad that Ruscion would be away from me, but at least I could play with my week old nephew a little bit. That still didn't replace all of this longing I had in my heart for the handsome, heroic prince. He was everything I could ever dream of and then some. He was the picture of pure perfection, not even the old idolization I had for Jacob even compared to what I felt for Ruscion.

There was no denying that I was in love with him. Even Jacob noticed this, which I felt so stupid for letting him see. He rated me out the day after Jayden was born. It looked like all my questions ratted me out that I was in serious like with the Prince of the Elves. Oddly enough though, Jacob was very supportive and told me not to punk out of my crush.

That's why I spent all my time around him, trying to get to know the prince better. I tried not to be too invasive of his privacy so I kept everything simple at first. We were both shy about things and neither one of us pried into each other's lives more than just the obvious basics. Eventually though, we actually did become closer and I could honestly admit that we were friends.

I told him of life back in La Push and practically everything that's happened to me. He actually seemed like he was fascinated in my life, which I couldn't understand why since it was so boring compared to his. He lived the life of a prince and I was just some small town kid. Yet, he listened to everything I had to say from my first time riding a bike, to my first honor roll, and even the time I nearly was killed by Leah's driving skills.

I then got to the part where I became a wolf. I told him about the fear I had when Leah and I first phased after our father had died. I told him everything I could about Harry Clearwater before fast forwarding to all the drama I got dragged into thanks to Rio. I got to the part where my mom and his dad dated for a while before finally getting married. The two of them were so happy together now that I knew my mom was going to be taken care of by a good man.

Ruscion told me about his life as well. Most of it sounded like it came from a Disney movie. He did what you'd expect a royal to do like going to the balls, riding in carriages, and all that other princely stuff. He was younger then Arwen so she would get the crown when their father either stepped down or, Heaven forbid, died. He was pretty much free to do as he pleased, which was something he was okay with. I even heard about how the sad death of his mother who killed by the Volturi before the elves escaped to Alfheim.

That's how I learned that the prince was nearly two hundred years old, even though he looked only twenty.

"Let it go, Seth," said the prince. "You should be ready now."

I released the strung arrow, letting it fly across the field to the target. I managed to actually hit something without the prince holding my hand the entire time. I felt so proud of myself that without really thinking about it, I threw my arms at the prince and hugged him.

The minute I did this, I felt like a total idiot.

I quickly let Ruscion go and walked away to grab another arrow. He was looking at me though, a puzzled look on his face that made me worry that I was in a lot of trouble. I felt all the more stupid for letting my excitement and hormones to get the better of me. I knew that he'd run away from me, but I was surprised that he only began to smile before picking up his bow.

Faster than my eyes could see, Ruscion shot an arrow that pierced my own. It was split in half like all those Robin Hood movies and the cartoons. He placed his silver bow on the rack before turning back around to face me.

"You still need a lot of practice," he told me. "Maybe my sister could help you more then I can."

"Oh," I said. That was the nicer way of letting me know that nothing would happen. I ran my fingers through my short hair, feeling like everything was just falling apart now. He really didn't want anything more to do with me, I had screwed things up so bad. "It's fine," I lied. "I'm sure you have a lot more important things to do then to teach me to use a bow."

"That's not it," Ruscion quickly defend himself. "I'm just not as good as my sister. Arwen is better at archery then I am, she is the best archer in the realm. I'm better at swordplay, archery is just something I do for recreation. If you really wish to be better archer then Arwen should become your mentor. The only thing I can teach you is swordplay."

Maybe it wasn't completely over yet then. This was an opening for me to try and reach out before it was too late. "Then will you teach me how to use a sword then?" I asked, hopeful by his words.

Ruscion smiled before shaking his head at me as he took the bow from my hands. I prayed I was hiding the helplessness I had as the prince just kept pushing me further aside. "I would love to teach you, Seth, but I must return to training Rio now that he is no longer with child," said the prince.

I tried to take the let down as gracefully as possible, but the broken hearted boy inside of me wouldn't let me. Ruscion touched my face though, gently nudging me to look at him. "I do enjoy spending time with you though," said the prince. "I don't know why I do, but I would like to continue being around you."

"So…you're not going to ditch me?" I asked, feeling my voice shake a little.

"Never," he whispered.

And before I knew it, Ruscion leaned towards me and kissed my lips.

My mind practically exploded as I surrendered body and soul to the prince. His hand was on my cheek, I was standing on the tips of my toes, and our lips continued to mingle together. I felt like I was flying on a blissful wave in the middle of the ocean. My entire body was just exploding as the nerves reacted to the contact I had with the prince. Everything just felt so right with him around, I knew in my heart that this was how it was meant to be.

But then I remembered what the Keeper said about elves. Ruscion will never know that this was an imprint unless we were married, but how could I marry a prince? I'm just Seth Clearwater, a shape-shifter from La Push. There was nothing special at all about me and he was prince. Granted, Arwen was the one who was going to get the throne, but I still was just a lowly commoner.

Ruscion seemed to feel the hesitation I had now and pulled away from me. He bore a frown on his face, which seemed to reflect the sorrow I had in my heart. "Forgive me, Seth," said the prince. "I shouldn't have pushed myself on you like that. It was…dishonorable. I should have asked for permission first. I should've asked your father for his blessing to court you."

"My father is dead, remember?" I told him. "Wait…what does courting mean?"

A smile crept up his face as he took my hands into his. I fought the urge to blush, but there was no point resisting. I looked into the prince's eyes and melted as I felt something change in the way that he looked at me.

"I wish to be with you, Seth Clearwater," said Prince Ruscion. "You are by far the most amazing person I've ever met, even amongst all the elves. There is something about you that just pulls me closer to you and I wish to never let that feeling slip away from me. These feelings are so strange, but I never felt more right in my entire life then when I'm around you." The prince took a hand away from me then placed it on my flushed cheek. He was far cooler then I was and that was considering I had a massively high body temperature. It was a nice contrast to feel his cooler skin against my own. "This must be what it's like to be in love."

My heart practically burst as I smiled. Before I even realized it, I threw myself against the prince and wrapped my arms around him. He held onto me as well, making me feel safer then I had ever felt before in my life. Maybe there was some hope for me after all. Maybe I could be as happy as Rio and Jacob were.

A lot of maybes, but at least I had some real hope now.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

It was nice not having to worry so much about all the madness that was going on for a little bit. I was free to just hunt and feed with my brothers at my side. Although, I did feel a little anxious not knowing what was going on back at the house. I could call whenever I wanted to, but it still wasn't the same since I worried for Riley because of all the other vampires there.

I worried that he might step on the wrong toe without someone looking out for him.

Reminding myself that Alice had his back, I gave out a deep sigh as I gazed at the bear. Emmett had already taken his down and Jasper was searching for his own. I found my prey, had I been human there would've been a rumble coming from my stomach. I surrendered to the hunter within myself and lunged after the bear, grappling onto it by the neck. The bear roared with fury, but I easily overpowered the mighty beast then sank my fangs into its neck where I began to feast.

Once the bear had nothing left, I released its carcass and left it on the ground. I wiped the blood off with my shirt then made a mental note to change before we returned home.

Jasper and Emmett were waiting by the camp we had set up by the jeep. They both smelt of blood and death so I knew that they had their meals. They would be strong enough to make it through until the Volturi finally arrive. We all had just one more chance to be at our peaks before the Volturi arrive to take Rio and the baby.

I could only pray that we had the strength to protect them both.

Emmett came up to me with his arm slinging around my shoulder. He pulled me close, against my will, then pointed over to Jasper. "So big guy, you're considering making those big vows?" said my younger brother. "That's a pretty big step you're taking. Marriage is something you should take very seriously, especially since vampires can't get divorced."

"Vampires can't even get married, dumbass," said Jasper. "Don't listen to him, Edward. Just follow what your heart tells you. If you want to pledge yourself to Riley and it feels right to the both of you then do it. We could use a little more happiness in this world."

"Plus, it might be your only chance to get hitched," said Emmett. "Who knows if all of us will survive this big showdown in a couple of weeks? Those of you with the extra powers might make it, but those who are more like Riley and me probably won't stand a chance."

"You really need to shut up now, Emmett," I told him, easily pushing my brother away. "Come on, let's get home. We don't want to stick around longer than necessary."

Jasper got into the driver's seat, while Emmett jumped into the back. I sat on the passenger seat where I began to look at the millions of stars out in the sky. Jasper began to drive a million miles per hour, but I could still see them fairly clearly since my eyesight was stronger than a humans. It was still blurry yet I still smiled as the starlight streaked above us.

My hand touched my pocket where I felt the ring in my pocket. My mother had gave me her ring before she died, it was a memento of her and it was a ring I promised to give to who I truly loved. I had thought that would be Rio, but he chose to be with Jacob instead of me. I bore no ill will to either one of them, it's what I wanted for Rio all along. Now, I had someone else in my life who is more like me, someone I won't have to be so frightened of losing in a tragic way.

Riley Biers, I knew I could find happiness with the dirty-blond, headed newborn.

I would've never imagined that I would swear the rest of my eternity to a former enemy. Especially to someone who tried to kill someone I truly loved. It's funny how fate seems to work when it plays with us. Things are nowhere near what I pictured them to be or even close to what Alice had originally foresaw, yet I was happy with all of that.

Maybe it was because I knew deep down that Riley was the one I was waiting for all along. Rio was just someone I needed to open my heart up to the possibility of love. Riley though, he was the one I was meant to be with. He's the one I've spent nearly a century waiting for. He is the one that I will vow to remain forever loyal and loving to.

That thought kept the smile on my face as I enjoyed the ride with Jasper and Emmett back to Forks.

We made it into town by midnight, how ironic. The house was still loud with all the vampires around, including some new additions from the nomad community. Jasper's old companions where present, including a few other friends that Carlisle and I made along the way. There was another man who I knew nothing about who had his arm around Bree. It wasn't until I pried into his mind that I saw his name is Fred and that he was part of the newborn army that Victoria made. Bree was his only friend and he came here just to protect her.

I nodded my head in her direction, she smiled and sent a thought to me that Riley was upstairs.

I bypassed all of the other vampires and even blew off the Romanians before they annoyed me more then was necessary. I crossed paths with Benjamin who sent a smile towards me, which I returned graciously. He was trying to get away from his coven leader, Amun, who was apparently driving him completely insane. I was surprised that Benjamin could retain so much freedom with a leader who was so overwhelmingly possessive.

Carlisle would never do that to any of us, many of the coven leaders here would think the same. Amun was the only one who was insanely possessive. I never met a man so blindly controlling since James. My blood began to boil just thinking about James, that psychotic monster, I had to regain control of my emotions and remind myself that he was destroyed for good.

With that out of my head, I made it into my bedroom to find Riley reading one of my books on the sofa. It was an older one back from when I was human. I don't think it's even reprinted anymore in this modern time where Harry Potter rules the world.

"You look pretty comfortable," I told him. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Riley just smirked as he dropped the book on the table. He spread his arms apart, welcoming me with open arms. I laughed at his childishness as I collapsed against his body with his young arms locked around me. He began to rub my back, which I found very relaxing, especially in the stressful times we were living in.

It felt nice not constantly having to be the strong one. It felt good to relinquish that power a little to someone else, to just be catered around a little bit. I didn't have to be ready to stop a flood with Riley like I had to when I was with Rio. I also didn't have to worry about breaking Riley like he was a porcelain doll. My strength wasn't as lethal to him so I just be at ease with myself for a nice change.

"I missed you," said Riley. "Those Romanians give me the creeps. I like the nomads a little more though. They're just so free to do whatever and go wherever they want when the moment just spurs upon them. I like having that kind of freedom."

"You don't like settling down?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not sure about this kind of settling down," he said, laughing a little. "There's an entire world out there that we can explore without anyone or anything really stopping us. I'd like to see everything that's out there." He snuck his hand down my arm until it touched mine. "Would you go exploring with me? I don't want to be out there all alone. I want you with me."

"Well, it looks like you can read minds too," I told him. "I have something I want to ask you too."

I got up from the sofa and dropped myself onto the ground. I adjusted myself properly so that I would be on one knee before taking the ring out from my pocket, still covered by my close fist. "Riley Biers, will you do me a great honor?" I asked him. "Will you marry me?"

I opened my palm, revealing my mother's ring. It wasn't too bulky, but a fairly large diamond was at the center. The silver band held the diamond in place, which would reflect beautifully against the sunlight from what I remember as a child. It shinned exactly as we did, making this the perfect gesture for my mate.

Riley looked at the ring then at me. His mind was completely blank and I almost worried that he would refuse. Then a large smile appeared on his face then he threw himself at me with his arms locked around my neck. We both fell onto the ground, laughing before his pressed his lips against my own.

"Yes, Edward Cullen," Riley said, "I will marry you."

* * *

**Rio's POV**

Every minute that I could spend away from my training, I spent with my little Jayden and Jacob. I couldn't stand being away from either way from them. I instantly became attached to Jayden the minute I held him in my arms for the first time. He was absolutely beautiful, a newborn version of Jacob, and I loved my son with such unconditional love.

Jayden was sleeping in my arms now that I finished feeding him. I touched his perfectly, soft skin and marveled at his dark skin. I would look at Jacob, seeing just how much the both of them looked alike Somehow, I felt that Jayden will be a lot more like Jacob then I was willing to believe at this moment.

"He's such a damn cute kid," Jacob whispered against my cheek.

"I know," I told him. "We made a good-looking baby. Maybe we can make another one, if he ends up like perfectly good."

Jacob chuckled as he kissed my forehead then took Jayden away from me. I almost fought him for taking away my kid, but I remembered that Jayden needed to spend some time with his father too. I let this one slid, giving Jacob the honor of holding our kid. Jacob rocked our baby boy back to sleep as he slowly fought the urge to wake up. Jayden gave out the cutest little squeaks as he tried to wake up, but he quickly found himself drifting back to sleep thanks to Jacob's parenting skills.

Jayden was completely racked out and wouldn't wake up anytime soon. Jacob and I nearly passed out as we watched Jayden just sleeping. A smile was on the both of our faces as we watched him sleep. It was so odd how becoming a parent changed your world. I never saw myself being on nor did I ever imagine having my own kid, but that had all changed.

I was now part of the parenthood community. Now I understood why Charlie and Reneé were always so worried about me.

"He's just so beautiful," Jacob laughed. "I could just sit here and watch him sleep."

"What do you think he'll be like when he's older?" I asked. "Hopefully, he won't be some out of control psycho that we need to lock away."

"Don't say that," Jacob said, pinching my arm.

"You're right," I said, kissing Jayden's hand. "He'll be the most wonderful child ever."

Jacob just rolled his eyes at me as he lay down beside Jayden. I looked at the both of them, lying on my side as well with a content smile on my face. This was a Kodak moment. I wouldn't mind someone snapping a picture or two if I wasn't worried that the flash might wake my kid up. He was a loud crier if you didn't get him what he wanted fast.

A light knock came from the door, making the both of us turn around just as the prince entered our bedroom. Ruscion had something in his hand that looked like a blade, but I couldn't see it clearly since it was covered with a sheath. His own sword was strapped to his back from where I could see the golden handle sticking out.

Ruscion silently approached us as I jumped out of the bed to reach him. Jacob hoisted Jayden up into his arms to meet us at the edge of the bed.

"What is it, Ruscion?" I asked. "Is there anything wrong?"

"My father wishes to speak with you about the Volturi," said Ruscion. "He's decided what to do about them, but first there is something I must give you." He held up the black sheath up to me, grabbing onto the silver handle of the short weapon. He pulled the sword out to show off a shorter blade made from pure steel, at least what I could tell. A few runes seemed to be inscribed onto the blade like all the other elven weapons I had came across while in Alfheim.

I marveled at the radiant beauty of the sword as I took it in my hand. It was shorter than the length of my arm, but it still had a bit of a reach to it despite being so short. "Thank you, Ruscion," I told the prince. "This is a beautiful weapon."

"I thought you'd like it," said the prince. "It is made from elven steel, which makes it the perfect weapon to use against the Volturi. The blade was forged with magic so you could draw power from it as well as place a bit of your own magic within it to use for future battles. Arwen and myself have already placed a small bit of our magic in there so you can use it to make you stronger. The most important thing about elven steel though is that it is the only weapon that can slay a vampire."

"What?" I said, nearly dropping the sword. Ruscion caught it before I lost it and returned it to the sheath. He handed it over to me, while I was still in shock from what he said. "Vampires are hard as steel though. How can this sword kill them?"

"Magic," he said, simply. "The minute that the blade pierces their flesh, our magic turns into a powerful acid that slowly begins to erode their bodies. Within a minute, the vampire will crumble apart into ash and return back to the grave."

"You think I could get a couple of those?" Jacob asked, still rocking Jayden in his arms.

Ruscion shook his head, saying that only an elf can use their steel. I stared at the weapon, knowing that I had something that could truly turn the tides in our favor. All I had to do was cut a vampire and they would perish. This could be the key that can end the battle with the Volturi before too many lives are lost on our side.

I thanked the prince then he escorted us down to the throne room where King Authion would be waiting.

The three of entered the throne to find the Keeper, Prince Arwen, and Seth present as well. Seth immediately bounced in our direction where I caught the brief glimpse of him smiling at the prince with the prince smiling back. I was going to have to ask Seth about that later because that was screaming something happened between the two of them. I wanted all the dirty details, but that could wait until another time.

Jacob handed Jayden over to me just before Authion began to speak to us.

"The Volturi is too great of a threat to underestimate," said the king. "We've already witnessed the destruction that they can wreak. It would be unwise to put you, Ilario, in such a dangerous situation, especially with your newborn child." Authion rose up from his throne and looked me square in the eye. Suddenly, I felt that he was going to say something I really wasn't going to like so my hold on Jayden tightened. "Ilario, I've decided that you and Jayden shall not leave Alfheim. Jacob and Seth will return without you. I cannot allow you to return to Midgard with a clear conscious."

"No!" I shouted at the king.

Everyone in the room looked surprised by the king's decree. Martheari looked as surprised as his children and the rest of us did by what he said. Jayden woke up at that point and began to cry as I held him against my chest. Jacob immediately got closer to me, wrapping his arms around me and the baby as he continued to cry. Seth looked frightened as his eyes shifted over to Ruscion.

"You can't do that!" I shouted at the king. "You cannot expect me to abandon everyone, not after I made it this far. The only reason that the Volturi are coming is because of me. They wouldn't be a threat to anyone if it wasn't for me."

"Which is why you cannot leave Alfheim," said Authion. "I will not put your life endanger."

"What about what Freyr said?" I asked. "He told you to help me. He said you would help me to stop the Volturi."

"No," said the king, "the god only said that we would help. He said nothing of defeating the Volturi."

I could only shake my head as I held onto Jayden and Jacob held onto me. Jacob promised that everything would work out, but I knew this would be the end of us if I didn't do something. The king was stronger than I was. If he truly wanted me to stay then I would have no other choice.

Which is why I would need to do what I do best, I needed to go in for the low blow.

"Your wife was murdered by the Volturi," I said to the king. I saw his eyes widened as my words pierced something within him. Arwen and Ruscion bore similar looks as they turned away to avoid hearing anything else. "What kind of a man are you? You hide behind the walls of your castle instead of avenging the life of your mate? I know for damn sure that if anything happened to me that Jacob would destroy Asgard and the gods if it would have even the slightest chance of bringing me back. How can you not honor your wife the same way by meeting her murderers in battle and prevent them from harming another elf?"

"Enough!" roared Authion. "My word is final!"

"No, it isn't," said Marethari. She had remained silent for so long that I almost forgot that she was here. She stood at the center of the throne room and looked upon the king. "It is I who has the authority to pass the final judgment for those whose blood is tied to Alfheim, Authion. I say that Ilario shall be given the chance to defend his family and life from the Volturi. He has grown so strong since he first arrived; he has two generations of magic that do not belong to him coursing through his veins. He has the potential to rid us of the Volturi, permanently."

"Marethari," growled the king.

"I say that Ilario may follow what his heart says," said the Keeper. "Jayden will leave with his parents as well, if they wish it. I will not allow you to break soul mates apart, Authion. That will only do more harm than good and it will only provoke the wrath of the All-Father. Odin will not be pleased if he learns of that you denied these two even their last of moments together." The Keeper turned her head and nodded for us to leave.

I whispered a thank you as I turned around, walking out of the throne room with Jacob, Jayden, and Seth.

We didn't make it that far either before someone tried to stop us. The guards tried to block the exit to the palace, but a sharp voice forced them to part. Ruscion and Arwen were running towards us. They said nothing as they took us out of the palace to where the portal back home was.

It took a while to make it to the end of the woods, but we eventually made it there before Authion got pissed enough to send an army after us.

"Why are you helping us?" I asked the prince and princess.

"Our hearts tell us to," Ruscion said, simply. He looked over to Seth, holding his hand out to him. Seth smiled as he locked his hand around the prince's, making both Jacob and I realize just what happened to make him so happy. "If you'll allow it, I wish to go to Midgard with you and help you fight the Volturi." He held my sword out to me, reminding me that I had almost left without it. Jacob took it so that I could continue holding onto the baby.

"I will do my best to convince my father to change his mind," said Arwen. "If I can work it, I will have him send warriors to help you battle the Volturi. If not…then I will send myself to Midgard to help you."

"You two are risking a lot to help a couple of strangers," said Jacob.

"Oddly enough, we're family," said Arwen. "Family always helps each other out in times of need. Even my father believed he was doing the right thing by making Rio and Jayden stay in Alfheim. It came from the right place."

"Just a poor execution," I said, rocking Jayden until he was asleep once more.

"We should get going, right?" said Seth. "I'm kinda worried about everyone back home. What if the Volturi decided to show up sooner rather than later?"

"Good point," I said.

I handed Jayden over to Seth and got to work on opening the portal. I crafted the symbol of Odin with my blood once more then whispered the word "Midgard". The bright column of white light rose up from the ground which would lead us back home where we belonged. Two more people would be with us, including an infant which I grew worried about.

Arwen placed a protective ward around Jayden though that should keep him safe during our journey. I thanked the princess with a hug, which she returned. The princess then said farewell to her brother for a longtime. They parted ways though and Ruscion took Seth's hand once more. Jacob wrapped his arm around me while I carried Jayden in my arms. Seth took hold of Jacob's forearm to make sure that none of us could be split up.

One leap forward, we all jumped into the portal that would take us from Alfheim back to Earth.

We all withheld the urge to scream, even Jayden managed to remain silent. This time around, the ride wasn't as painful, which was something to be thankful for. The blinding light though was still annoying enough but it eventually faded as I took in the sweet scent that came from the flowers in the meadow.

I opened my eyes with a smile on my face now that we were back home.

"Took you long enough," said a woman's voice. "You had me waiting for like three hours. I was beginning to think I was wrong."

Still smiling, I turned around to see Alice Cullen sitting on the hood of an SUV with the keys in hand.


	22. Author's Note

Author's Note:

I'm having my wisdom teeth extracted tomorrow. They're going to have to do some bad things to my mouth like breaking bones and stuff like that. I might not be able to write because I'll be super medicated so updates could possibly take a lot longer. I'm just letting you all know in advance so that you don't freak out or anything. To pass the time, I suggest you read my other stories or any other the other many fantastic stories on here!

With Love,

Xeikm


	23. Breaking Dawn VI

Author's Note: So I survived my surgery so I'm a little medicated greatly. Haha. So forgive anything that doesn't make too much sense, I really tried hard to put out a good chapter. I thought this was pretty good if I do say so myself. Haha. Thank you everyone for all the nice messages to wish me well. That really helped to motivate me into putting out this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I worked hard on it. P.S. the epilogue should be out in just a few days. Read and review!

**Fighting for Survival:**

**Seth's POV**

After spending nine months in Alfheim, it felt so strange to be back home. We left at the beginning of July and made our big return in March. Most of the snow had already melted so we weren't too worried about Jayden getting to sick. But just as a precaution, Jacob was the one holding onto him to make sure he didn't get too cold.

I sat beside Ruscion on our trip back to the Cullen house. The elven prince was amazed by the differences between Forks and Alfheim, and that's because we were barely in town right now. I couldn't wait to show him the actual big cities then record the look of shock on his face. I wondered if my alpha and parents would let me take off to New York with my boyfriend, even Seattle would be nice too.

Alice was babbling like crazy as she drove us to the Cullen's place with Rio explaining everything to her that happened during our stay in Alfheim. She was simply baffled by our encounter with the elves, our origins as shifters not werewolves, the fact I snagged me a prince, and that Rio had the most adorable looking baby in the world. I wasn't sure what the biggest surprise was though for Alice, the fact that I had a boyfriend who was a prince or that Rio actually gave birth to another human being. Either way, it was very weird to be back in a world so horribly deprived of magic unlike the world of Alfheim.

"This place is very strange to me," Ruscion whispered as he held my hand. "I've been told that Midgard was different from Alfheim, but I've never imagined it to be like this. I was but a babe when I was sent to Alfheim for my own safety."

"Trust me, you've only scratched the surface," I said, leaning my head against his arm. "Earth is the complete opposite of Alfheim."

Ruscion had the cutest look of confusion on his face, which made me laugh a little. I kept myself as close to him as I possibly could, ignoring the background noise that Jayden made. The newborn was a little fussy even in his daddy's arms that were a little odd though. Jayden behaved morel like a little saint when Jacob held onto him; it was Rio that usually had a little more trouble with him. We pretty much figured that Jayden was a daddy's boy during our last month in Alfheim, but who knew if that might change.

Alice pulled into the driveway of their home, Jacob and I flinched when we felt an ungodly amount of stench emanating from the house. Granted, we were both used to the smell of vampires, but even our noises were burning due to the overwhelming amount of them within that house. Alice tried to warn us that their vampire army had gathered alongside the wolf pack to welcome us back. I was scratching my nose and trying not to lose my balance as Ruscion helped me out of the car. Jacob had to relinquish control of Jayden to Rio to make sure that he didn't drop their baby.

We made inside the house to see the overwhelming number of vampires and wolves. I quickly ran over to Leah and locked my arms around my sister. She practically lifted me up into the air, while Quil and Embry took off to face Jake. Ruscion appeared by my side and I went through the awkward introduction of my boyfriend to my sister. Leah's eye began to twitch; I could tell she was a little jealous that I found someone before her. Oh well. As for Rio, he was stuck in the middle of it all with Jayden in his arms, up and awake now to the point where he became the center of attention.

"That's the baby?" Esme asked, walking towards Rio. "Oh my Lord, he is absolutely precious."

"What's his name?" Carlisle asked as his wife brushed Jayden's dark hair.

"Jayden Black," Rio told them. "We figure it would be easier to give him daddy's last name. It would mean a lot less explaining for us since he looks exactly like Jacob."

"There is an uncanny resemblance," said Carlisle. "There is no denying that this is the son of a werewolf."

"Shape-shifter," Jacob and I said, correcting the vampire.

"Excuse me?" asked Carlisle.

"Long story," Rio told them. "We'll explain that all later. Right now, we have an army of all-powerful vampires to deal with."

Carlisle agreed before turning to ask how long until the Volturi showed up. Alice closed her eyes for only a moment, leaving everyone in the room awaiting her answer. "They'll be here in two days," Alice told us. "They want to make sure that they'll have the chance to get to Rio and the baby. This is their official edict."

Jacob pulled away from Quil and Embry, a dark glare planted on his face as he joined Rio and the baby. "They won't get anywhere near them if I have anything to say about that," he practically roared. "My pack will tear them to shreds before they have the chance."

Edward appeared from the group of vampires with Riley's hand locked into his. I had a faint smile on his face when I noticed a large ring on Riley's finger; Edward only winked at me, which was proof enough. "It'll take more than a dozen plus wolves to defeat the Volturi," said Edward. "Even if their Alpha has mastered their full potential, it's not going to be an easy fight. The Volturi is coming after us with everything: the leader and guard will be there."

"Including the wives," said Alice. "The only time the Volturi bring their wives along is for a full slaughter. They're not going to pull back any punches."

"Which means we may finally have our revenge," laughed a vampire.

"Yes, we can finally eradicate the Volturi," said another, I'm assuming that was his companion.

"Enough, Vladimir, Stefan," said Carlisle. "Now is not the time to be plotting revenge."

"No," Rio said, handing Jayden over to Jacob. "Now is the perfect time to plot revenge." He stood away from the crowd, stepping into the middle of the living room. This was like a completely different Rio that we were used to seeing. Even Jacob looked surprised to see the look of bloodlust on his face. "The Volturi want a war with us so that's exactly what they'll get. This isn't about a silly grudge like what Victoria had against me, the Volturi want to start a true war by taking me and my son. I won't allow that to happen, we need to stop them now while we have the chance."

"What about the elves?" asked Jasper. "Did you convince them to come?"

"We have the prince of the elves," Rio said, pointing to Ruscion. "With any luck, his sister, the princess, will be able to convince the king to bring an army to back us up. I failed at trying to convince him, so hopefully she'll have better luck then I did. If not then she'll join us on her own, but we can't rely on a rescue. This is our chance to prove just how strong we are."

"Any why should we fight for you?" asked an Egyptian vampire. His voice was rough and cruel as the words escaped him. "We know nothing off you, boy, other then you're a half-elf."

Rio smirked as he stuffed his hands into his pockets of the elven pants he wore. "You're right, why should you fight for me?" said Rio. "Why should you risk your lives to protect us, I'll tell you why. I didn't ask for any of you to come here, I only asked for help from the Cullens and my husband, as the Alpha, have the wolf pack fighting beside us. The rest of you, I don't know nor did I beg for your assistance. I'm assuming that most of you have your own grudges against the Volturi or you have a debt to pay to Carlisle and his family. Those of you who owe them a favor, I expect you to honor the debt you must pay, but I'm not asking you to fight for me if that is not what your heart desires. If you don't want to be here then nobody is forcing you to say, I suggest you leave now while you still have the chance to get going."

The boldness behind Rio's voice left me shaking as I reached out to Ruscion for support. He wrapped an arm around me where I could hear the rapid beating of his chest. I was left paralyzed by Rio, but I continued to listen to every word that my step-brother had to say to us. I understood exactly what he was trying to do. He was acting like a general, he was uniting an army to fight against an ancient order of vampires.

"Those of you who are fighting for revenge," said Rio, "don't let your vengeance blind you. Use it to motivate you, to push you forward, but don't allow it to consume everything you do. It will only make you weak and vulnerable, easy prey for the Volturi. Reckless actions will only get you killed on the battlefield, which I'm sure most of you are aware of."

"Yes we do," said Vladimir and Stefan.

Rio looked at everyone in the room, he took in a deep breath for a moment. "I know I'm asking for a lot out of you," he told everyone. "By asking you to fight alongside me, I'm asking you to risk your own lives. I can't guarantee that we'll all survive this battle, but I will make a promise to all of you that I will do everything in my power to make sure that the Volturi do not win. When they arrive, I will show them that they cannot control us without our permission. I will show them that they should be very afraid of what we can do when we unite against them. They will know the true meaning of fear, a fear I'm sure you're all familiar with witnessing."

"So ask yourselves, are you ready to make a difference?" Rio asked, finishing his big speech.

The room was completely silent as they looked upon the human-elf hybrid. Rio showed no fear on his face, but I knew that in his heart that he was absolutely terrified. I felt motivated though by Rio's speech and I knew that he would keep his promise no matter what the cost. I walked over towards my step-brother, losing Ruscion in the process as I reached out to his hand. I was ready to make a difference.

Rio could only laugh as he hugged me. Ruscion and Jacob followed behind us. So did the Cullens and the entire wolf pack, including all our extra members. Vladimir and Stefan, the Denali Coven, and all of the other vampires in the room joined us in the circle. It looked like Rio succeeded in reaching out to all of them, he did a good job in uniting an army.

The next couple of hours were spent fighting out an appropriate location for the big showdown. A larger field that wasn't too far from where we battled Victoria's newborn army was decided to be the battleground. Everyone was ready for the showdown, more so were Vladimir and Stefan who I learned were a pair of Romanian vampires who had their coven torn apart by the Volturi. Even the Denali coven had suffered at the hands of the Volturi when they killed their former leader for a crime that they didn't wish to share.

The vampires, both the covens and nomads, were ready to fight alongside us which gave us a fighting chance. I didn't count them all, but if I had to assume then I'd say there were over two dozen vampires on our side. Then there was the wolf pack. We had gained four additional wolves since we left for Alfheim, all of which I was going to have to learn about very soon. Jacob escorted all of us wolves back to La Push to get them ready for the fight, Rio and Ruscion followed behind us, leaving the vampires behind at the Cullen house.

Most of the pack ran back to La Push in their wolf form, while Rio borrowed one of the Cullen's SUV. I remained with Rio and Ruscion, keeping Jayden warm in my arms as we drove to La Push. It took a while longer, but we eventually made to Sam and Emily's place where the entire pack plus the council leaders had gathered together. I got out of the car to see my mother and Charlie waiting at the doorway for us. Everyone else, I assumed, were waiting for us inside.

"Mom," I said, hugging her with one arm, using the other to hold Jayden. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too, baby boy," my mother cried as she hugged me.

It took a while, but she finally pulled me away so Rio could retrieve his son from me. I watched as Rio presented Charlie his grandson. "Congratulations, Grandpa Charlie," laughed Rio. "Say hi to your grandson Jayden." For the first time since I met Charlie, the man was in tears as he took his grandson in his arms. He held onto the newborn with a large grin on his face as he looked into the innocent eyes of his grandbaby.

I grabbed onto Ruscion's hand and made the awkward introduction to my mother. "Mom, this is my boyfriend, Ruscion," I told her. "He's the prince of the elves."

My mother's eyes nearly busted out from his sockets as she looked Ruscion up and down. My prince did his best to make a good first impression on my mother, like I had warned him. She was still in shock though, seeing her little boy with another man. I was going to withhold the information that Ruscion was two hundred years older than me, for now. Until after the wedding I was planning in my head.

With that done, we finally entered the home to see Jacob talking to the pack. Billy was there too and he soon was introduced to his grandson when Grandpa Charlie handed him over to Grandpa Billy. He looked about ready to cry too as he finally met Jayden. Meanwhile, Jacob had to reestablish his role as the Alpha, especially to all the newbies, since his nine month long hiatus. I joined the other wolves, while everyone else kept their distance.

"I know I haven't been a good leader since I've been gone," said Jacob, "but I had to do this to protect my family. I trust that Leah has been a good leader during my absence, she was the only person I could trust with such a responsibility. So I ask that you all decide for yourselves to fight beside us during our battle with the Volturi. I know this goes against all our rules that vampires are our enemies, but not all of the things we've been taught our true. Those vampires you've met are our allies. The Cullens are good people, even if they are the walking undead. So I am asking you all to stand up with me and keep the Volturi from hurting everyone that we love."

Nobody in the pack disagreed with our Alpha. Embry, Quil, and myself were the loudest as we stood up to applaud Jacob. Sam nodded his head, Leah remained perfectly composed as she smiled at him, Jared and Paul behaved perfectly well, and all of the newbies seemed to cave in without any trouble. It looked like Leah did a better job at maintaining harmony between the pack then any of us could expect.

I turned around to see Ruscion smiling at me. I got up from the sofa and followed him outside so that the two of us could be alone for a moment.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this," I told the prince. "Do you think you'll be allowed to go back to Alfheim when this is all over?"

"That I cannot say," said Ruscion. "My father is not a vindictive person, but not even I'm sure of how he'll react to this. I can only hope that my sister will be able to persuade him to do the right thing and help Rio stop the Volturi. This is our chance for the elves to reclaim our honor that we lost when we were driven out of this realm."

"So then this is about revenge?" I asked.

"Not just revenge or honor," Ruscion said, silently. He turned to me and placed a cool hand against my face. He leaned in closer to me, his lips hovering over mine as his eyes were locked onto mine. "I won't allow this battle to hurt you, Seth. I will do everything in my power to protect you, to keep you safe. I'm deeply in love with you, Seth Clearwater. I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe."

"Wow," I said, my legs felt suddenly weak. "Who would've thought I'd get a prince to fall in love with me." I placed my hands on his chest, pulling myself a little closer to him. Even though I wasn't certain if it was true or not, this felt like an imprint to me. It felt like gravity was pulling me closer to him, a feeling I could not live without as I brought my lips closer to his. "I love you too, Prince Ruscion. I love you so much."

Our lips finally met and everything felt right in the universe.

Not even a war could pull us apart from each other.

At least, I prayed that it wouldn't.

* * *

**Riley's POV**

Dawn had arrived, leaving us with only one day left until the beginning of the end of our world was here.

I laid there in bed with Edward, spooning against him with our nudity covered by the blankets. I held onto him, while he held onto me. Neither one of us bothered to say a single thing as we just basked in the silence. My thoughts were just a storm of worry, something I'm sure he was hearing from everyone else in the house. There was no doubt that everyone was worrying about the coming battle with the Volturi.

When tomorrow came so would the Volturi. They would be here with their army, ready to fight us as we fought to protect Rio and Jayden. It was terrifying to admit to myself that some of us wouldn't make it through the battle. Although it was obvious since the beginning, it hadn't truly dawned on me until Rio gave his big speech yesterday. He was absolutely right though, not all of us would make it through the fight.

"You shouldn't fret so much," Edward whispered to me. "You'll only give yourself gray hairs."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel any better," I told him. "We know that some of us will die. The only thing is we don't know who and it's not like Alice can tell us that we'll all survive. I'm just terrified that I might lose you or anyone else in the family."

Edward chuckled lightly as he wound his arms tighter around me. Although I was slightly bigger then he was, I gave into the security I felt as he held onto me. "I'm glad you think of us as a family now," he whispered. "It makes me feel more confident that we can make it through this together. I promise you, Riley, that we'll survive this fight, the Volturi wouldn't tear any one of us away from each other."

"You can't guarantee that, Edward," I told him. "You can't promise that we will all survive this fight without a scratch. The Volturi are powerful vampires. Even when the newborn army attacked, you didn't make it unscratched. Jacob nearly died until Rio saved his life and that nearly killed him too. The threat is bigger this time around, even though there is a lot more of us, I still can't say we will make it when the smoke is cleared. At least if Rio had convinced the elves to join us then I could be a little more confident, but we're on our own for this one."

His hands went up to my face, locking onto me as he pulled himself on top of me. A gentle kiss met my lips until he finally broke away. Had I still been human, I would've been very queasy at the moment, but being a vampire didn't allow such a mortal sickness to stricken me. I only succumbed to the clarity I felt when his skin met my own.

"We'll find a way," he whispered to me. "I won't lose you, Riley Biers."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep, Edward Cullen," I whispered, weakly.

A smile graced his handsome face as he finally pulled away from me. He retrieved his clothes and I soon followed is lead as we dressed in complete silence. I found most of my clothes, but soon saw that my shirt was completely torn. I shrugged as I went to our closet to get another one, despite being well aware that every vampire in the house probably heard us last night.

Well, to be honest, it was pretty much an orgy last night. All the mates spent this past night together in a very sexual manner. Those who were unmated left the house to roam the night as they tried to find clarity before the coming battle. Edward and I were amongst the mates that stayed in the house to partake in our own private sexual experience. I blushed at the mere memory of some of the things we did to each other.

Edward's arms found their way around my waist yet again. His frozen lips touched my neck, sending pleasurable chills down my spine. I twisted my head back a little to take his lips and claimed him as my own. A soft moan escaped his mouth as I gently bit on his lip.

Had we not restrained ourselves then there would've been a repeat of last night.

The two of us wandered down stairs were everyone else was waiting. The vampire army we had gathered was discussing a battle strategy with Rio and Jacob on the speaker phone. We were trying to coordinate an appropriate battle strategy to fight the Volturi with, while keeping the carnage down to a bare minimum. Despite the battleground being set, we still had to worry about any collateral damage in case the Volturi decided to go out on a rampage across the state.

Alice assured us that such a thing wouldn't happen. The Volturi wouldn't damage their own law to such an extent, which we hardly found to be a comfort at all. However, she did say that they might try to strike back even if we did manage to pull off a victory. It was plenty clear that Jayden was what the Volturi was seeking so there was no way he'd be anywhere near the battlefield.

"Our top priority is hiding Jayden then and keeping a guard around him," said Carlisle. "I'm assuming that you'll want to keep in at La Push, am I correct, Rio and Jacob?"

"Charlie, Sue, Billy, Emily, and Rachel will be here," said Rio. "Jake's keeping a werewolf guard around them too."

"Jared will be the leader of this backup team, he'll be with the four newbies," said Jacob. "As much as this breaks treaty law, I want some of the vampires here for backup. Is there anyone that we can spare without weakening our line?"

"I can stay with them," Alice volunteered without hesitation. "This also gives me a chance to keep an eye on the Volturi. If I'm not directly in combat then I can watch their movements so that I can see if they'll try and stab us in the back."

That did seem like a good plan. We all knew that Alice could only spread herself so thin before things started to fall into the gaps. If she tried to focus on her visions too hard then her combat skills would suffer and/or she would miss a key vision that could save all of our lives. So long as we had some type of contact with them like the wolves' telepathy link then we should be fine.

Carlisle and everyone else seemed to agree, but they still thought we'd need a few more vampires to keep a perimeter around Jayden.

Bree raised her hand up, getting all of our attention as she did so. "I can stay behind," she announced. "I know that I'll probably get in the way if I was on the main field and you wouldn't want me there anyways. At least this way I can stay out of trouble as much as possible." She took hold of Fred's hand, locking it around her own. I raised an eyebrow, noticing a romantic spark flowing between the two of them. "Fred can stay with me too. He could use his powers to repeal the Volturi from coming anywhere near La Push. I'm sure the wolves' scent could only help in keeping them back too."

"That's a good idea," agreed Jasper. "I still say that at least three more of us should stay behind. In the worst possible scenario, I suggest that we be ready, just in case."

"I'll stay with Alice and the others then," offered Rosalie. "I'm strong enough to protect Jayden should the Volturi break in. It would be an honor to protect him, if that's alright with you, Rio and Jake."

"Thank you, Rosalie," said Rio. "The next kid we have, you'll be the godmother."

Rosalie smirked as she told them that she'd hold them to that one.

A few of the nomads chose to stay behind too to create a stronger perimeter around them. With that all taken care of, we arranged an appropriate time to gather for the big showdown. The vampires that were going to stay in La Push would leave immediately so that they could prepare for a confrontation. Rio, Jacob, and everyone else would come here to prepare for being part of the main fight.

I had a feeling that this was just tarring Rio and Jacob apart. They would be forced to spend a day away from their child, but the purpose was to keep him safe. The Volturi wanted Jayden more than anything else. An elf, shape-shifter, human hybrid, no doubt Jayden was the first of his kind. I hated myself for even thinking about the horrible things that the Volturi might do to an innocent child. I hated myself for being so curious about the newborn's potential, but I digress.

In the house that passed, we spent our last moments preparing for the biggest battle that any one of us could possibly imagine. We went through everything we knew about the Volturi from their members, to their abilities, to the mates, and even their strengths. The Romanians were the most useful when it came to this since they had plenty of run-ins with the Volturi in the past. The Romanians and the rest of the Cullens knew pretty much everything about the Volturi due to all their previous experiences with them.

"Our biggest concerns are the witch-twins," spat Vladimir. "Those filthy brats are Aro's weapons of mass destruction. If he sends them out first then this battle is as good as over."

"Why?" I asked. "Sure, Jane can do some fucked up things to your head, but I still don't see how they can stop us all."

"Because their power spreads, boy," said Stefan. "Jane can expand her power to strike multiple foes if she can maintain proper concentration. Then there is her twin, Alec." He shivered as he mentioned the name. I had a bad feeling I was going to regret asking what he could do. "His power is far worse, he can deprive you of all feeling."

Edward continued for the ancient vampire as he took hold of my hand, explaining it to everyone else there as well. "They are the opposites of one another. Where Jane can make you feel the most unimaginable pain possible, Alec can deprive you off all feeling in the world," he told us. "He neutralizes all pain, but this also leaves you unable to feel a single thing. He blocks all of your senses, make it easy for the Volturi to rip their enemies to pieces."

"So Jane and Alec need to die, quickly," Rio concluded for us. "Got it."

"It won't be that easy, elf," laughed Vladimir. "The twins hide on the sidelines, protected by the guard almost as heavily as the leaders themselves. They can decimate an entire army before you have the chance to break through their defenses."

"Then we should try to find a way to neutralize their abilities," said Ruscion. "If I use my power along with Rio's then we might be able to create a shield powerful enough to counteract against their powers."

"We can do that?" asked Rio.

"With enough luck," said elf prince. "It won't be easy, but it should be possible."

Now that sounded like a plan. At least we had something in the works to protect ourselves against these Witch Twins. I, honestly, was not looking forward to encountering Jane once again. I still felt the pain she left me with the last time I met her. To imagine that her brother could do something far worse was astonishing to the point where I didn't even want to think about it. I could understand how these two could be so unbelievably powerful yet so loyal to the Volturi.

If they wanted to, the two of them could overthrow the Volturi.

As we finished preparing for our big showdown, most of us decided to split apart once more. I took off with Edward to the someplace where we could be alone for a while. Rio and Jacob took off to their own home to look at all the remodeling work that we had done while they were away.

Alice took the time to prepare a nursery for Jayden in Rio's former bedroom. It was a cute, little room that Jayden would be able to sleep peacefully in once we finished with the Volturi threat. When we heard that Rio was thinking of having more kids in the future, Alice was already brimming with adding another wing to their home so that they could make a master bedroom for Rio and Jacob, while another room was created for the kids. I knew it was best to stay out of Alice's way on that project, despite the fact she was no longer in the house so we were safe from her creativity.

Edward and I sat on the porch, looking out to the woods that circled around our home. I curled against Edward's body about as closely as I could, while I lost myself in thought. I tried to think of what life would be like after this big fight, what we could do whenever with our lives after that. I knew there would be a wedding, Alice was already planning that one too. But I tried to think of where Edward and I could go after that.

"What do you think about South America?" I asked Edward. "I always wanted to go to Brazil and Peru."

"They're gorgeous countries," said Edward. "I haven't been to Asia in a long time. I've been wanting to visit India for some time now."

"I'd like to visit Greece, Turkey, France, and Germany," I laughed, listing more countries while I was at it. "I'd like to go to Russia too, which is perfect for us since we can't feel the cold. Oh, let's go to Canada too. I've always wanted to visit Canada. I heard the Canadians are very friendly people."

"As close we are to Canada, you've never been?" Edward asked, shaking his head at me.

"My parents were cheap asses," I said, laughing. "They never wanted to get me a passport because they were afraid I'd take off to get high and drink and buy a couple of hookers."

"They are aware that you'd be going to Canada, not Mexico?"

"That's what I tried to tell them, but they were stubborn folks," I said, leaning my head against his shoulder. "Edward, do you really think we'll be able to make it out of this one?"

I felt him nod his head, promising that we could survive this as he kissed my forehead.

Behind us, I heard soft prayers being spoken. I turned to see Siobhan looking up to the sky with her eyes closed as the prayers escaped her cold lips. She was praying that we'd be able to survive the battle with the Volturi and that everyone would be safe.

If her power was as strong as Carlisle claimed it to be, I was almost positive that her wish would come true.

That was enough to give me a little more faith in surviving the coming battle.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

Sunrise was approaching, which could only mean one thing for all of us.

The dawn of battle was upon us.

The entire house was filled with worry and uneasy stomachs as we all prepared for the battle. I took hold of Riley's hand, kissing his cold flesh as I led him downstairs where everyone else was waiting for us. I looked amongst the crowd of vampires and shape-shifters, plus two elves. This was the army we had gathered to face against the most powerful coven of vampires on the planet.

I honestly had no idea if we'd be able to pull this one off, everyone else was thinking the same thing. I tried to remain calm for everyone, especially for Riley and Rio. The two of them were by far more worried than anyone else here. Jacob kept himself together for Rio's sake, but even he was nervous as he led the wolf pack out the door.

Seth stayed behind for a moment to kiss Ruscion goodbye. I watched as the two shared a long look in their eyes, I recognized the purity of love. It was the same look I saw whenever I looked at Rio and Jacob. This was true love and I prayed that those two would be able to hold onto the love forevermore.

I briefly went over to the elven prince, placing a hand on his shoulder. I had gained his attention like I wanted with his kind eyes now focusing onto me. "You know I can read minds?" I told him. Ruscion only nodded his head at me as I saw a brief look of worry in his eyes. I smiled as I turned back to Seth's fleeting figure just as he disappeared into the woods with the others, shifting into his wolf form. "Seth has the purest mind I have ever had the pleasure of encountering. Even with all the evil he's seen and the perversion that has tainted this world, his heart and mind still remains so pure. He is a beautifully, innocent creature."

"I know," Ruscion finally said. "I wish to protect his innocence with all my being. I will not allow the Volturi's fangs to get anywhere near him."

"Good," I told him. "Protect him with all your heart because the world cannot afford to lose someone as good as Seth Clearwater."

I left him with that as I returned to the others. We already finished getting ready and took off into the woods, following the wolves' lead. I made a brief call to Alice though before we left, she told me that the Volturi would be there before dawn passed. I relayed the message to Rio as he was hanging onto my back as I raced him across the woods like in the old days. I wanted to ask him about the blade he had strapped to his back, but I decided to not say a word about it.

Eventually, we all made it to the clearing where the fight would be held. Rio jumped off my back and approached Jacob in his large, wolf form. Wolf-Jacob licked his husband's face, forcing a light smile to grace Rio's face. I could hear Jacob's thoughts of worry for the safety of their son. I knew they were both terrified that something might happen to their beautiful son while they were away, but I believed in Alice's visions.

Jayden would be safe, we would all make it through this fight.

The wolves all howled in unison, forcing me out of my trance as I heard a lot of minds. I drew closer towards the center with Rio and Ruscion present. "They're here," I said, translating for the wolves. Rio only nodded his head at me as he stood his ground. Ruscion placed a hand on his shoulder and I felt a magical spark rip through the air. No doubt this would be the shield that they had spoken of last night.

In a matter of moments, they were finally upon us.

Over two dozen vampires were present in the large clearing. My fists tightened as I looked at the ethereal godliness that the Volturi portrayed as they drew closer towards us. Aro, Marcus, and Caius were surrounded by their guards. I could easily make out Alec and Jane from their group. The most surprising though was Irina who stood amongst the wives, which made my blood run cold as I focused on her. I felt similar thoughts from her own coven, the thought from Tanya, Carmen, and Kate being regrettably powerful.

Despite the distance between us all, Aro's voice was as loud and clear as ever.

"Well, well, this is certainly a surprise," Aro said, his voice radiating throughout the clearing. He began to step forward away from the guard who set up their defensive ring. "So many gathered here before us, even Vladimir and Stefan are present. How good it is to see all of our old friends here, and plenty of new faces."

Vladimir and Stefan took the insult to heart, but managed to restrain themselves from doing anything rash.

Carlisle attempted to maintain some semblance of order amongst us all. He put himself in front of everyone, while the wolves started to make their presence known. "There is no need for a fight, Aro," said Carlisle. "It is completely senseless for us to battle against one another. You have no right to harm Rio and his child in any shape or form."

"The child is powerful, that is reason enough," said Aro. "He can become too much of a threat to us. We mustn't allow a Slayer to be born now or even an Immortal Child to roam this world."

"The Slayers are but a legend, Aro," said Carlisle. "Even if the Slayers are real, they haven't been around since before the days of Mesopotamia. As for the Immortal Children, well, Rio's son isn't one of them. You and I are both well aware of that."

Rio nudged my arm with a curious look on his face. "What's a Slayer," he asked, "and an Immortal Child."

I leaned in closer to him to briefly explain to him what they were. "The Immortal Children are human children who are turned into vampires," he said, softly. "Since vampires are incapable of giving birth, some craved to have children of their own. So they turned human children into vampires, but it came at a price. These children were so amazingly beautiful that their makers worshipped them as if they were gods. The worst part though was that the thirst for the Immortal Children could not be quenched. They constantly had to be fed otherwise they would destroy everything in their path. The Volturi finally had to destroy all the Immortal Children and outlaw this practice before it completely exposed our kind."

"Our leader was one of those who was killed," said Tanya. "Sasha, she kept an Immortal Child hidden from the Volturi, a little boy. When they learned of her betrayal, they destroyed her and her son, leaving the rest of my sisters cowering in fear. We never dreamed of going against the Volturi until today."

"Then what's a Slayer?" Rio asked.

"That is just a legend, but who knows if it's true," I told him. "Long ago, before the dawn of civilization, vampires and other monsters ran wild. They hunted and killed humans without any hesitation on their part. During all of this carnage, it was said that the humans endowed themselves with mystical forces while other legends said they spawned children with the monsters. Either way, it created hybrids so powerful that they had the strength to kill vampires and the other monsters, they were called Slayers. That is only a legend though. When civilization began, there has never been records of a Slayer existing, even the legends are weak at best. There is no real evidence at all that even one Slayer ever existed."

Rio only nodded his head before we finally returned to Carlisle who was failing miserably at defusing the situation.

"You have betrayed us enough, Carlisle!" spat Caius. "You have brought the Children of the Moon to fight against us. Did you not forget that it was I who led to their eradication? Now you keep them around as your pets!"

"Not our pets, but as our allies," corrected Carlisle. "Jacob Black is their Alpha and he is Rio's husband, the father of the child you so desperately seek. But allow me to correct you, Caius, they are not werewolves as one would imagine." He pointed up to the sky with the Volturi looking briefly up. "As you can see, it is morning, not night. You are well aware that werewolves can only transform in the night. These wolves are shape-shifters, spirit warriors who have an affinity for becoming wolves. So, as you can see, I have not broken a crime by keeping werewolves around."

Caius growled with frustration before turning aside. Vladimir and Stefan laughed at the Volturi leader's frustration before regaining their composure. I fought the urge to laugh as well since it was amusing to see Caius so angry.

Marcus remained as silent as ever, leaving Aro alone to defend them with his words.

"Either way, Carlisle," said Aro, "you have betrayed our law. Even now, you defy us by standing in our way from what we seek."

"You will not lay a hand on my child!" Rio shouted as he stepped forward. Jacob followed his lead, standing beside the man he loved. I wanted to pull Rio back, but Riley stepped in the way to let Rio speak up for himself. "You are nothing but despicable monsters who think the whole world is under your command. Well, I have news for you, Volturi bastards, you have no real power. Your control is only warranted because it is a convenience for others, as you can see now, we have the power to overthrow you."

"Bold words for a boy," said Marcus.

"What power do you have, half-breed?" said Caius. "You can barely control those powers of yours."

Rio just laughed as he pulled his sword out. He pointed it towards the Volturi and their guard, standing his ground as he looked them all square in the eyes. Even I felt the power surging around his body. It was then that I noticed Alec and Jane, they were trying to use their powers against him, but that's when I saw the giant bubble around us.

A hazy mist crawled around the ground, which was no doubt Alec's power. It circled around the bubble until if just dissipated into nothing. I saw the look of frustration on Alec's face, while Jane tried to maintain her concentration. There was a brief flash of light against the bubble, but it failed just as miserably as the mist. Jane looked shocked to see not even should go do anything.

"That just goes to show you," said Rio, "you shouldn't mess with mommy and daddy. I wasn't just sitting around, waiting for you to come after me and my son. I've been preparing for this, I'm ready to fight you all. Aro, Caius, Marcus, I will kill you all for even thinking of harming my son!"

The laughter that exploded from Aro was frightening, but it wasn't enough to waver Rio's confidence.

"Foolish boy," said Aro. "Alright, if this is what you wish then so be it. Guard, attack them all! Leave no one alive!"

With those fatal words spoken, the Volturi unleashed their guard to spring after us. Rio was the first to charge into the fray with Jacob and the rest of the wolves following him. I took off running with Riley and Ruscion to enter the battle as well. Everyone else followed behind the rest of us, ready to do what needed to be done to stop the Volturi.

I said a silent prayer to God and any other higher power that was willing to listen.

Save us all.

* * *

**Jacob's POV**

The minute that the fighting began, I threw myself in the middle of all of it. I raced through the incoming vampires and chewed down everyone that got in my way. The other members of the pack and the rest of our vampire army went after the incoming guard. I knew that in a matter of minutes that this would become a bloody massacre if we didn't finish them all off quickly.

Despite the roar of thunder above my head, it didn't slow me down even for a second. There was only one vampire I wanted and it was the one that would be the biggest threat to our army. Rio painted a pretty picture in my head so I saw the pretty boy, Witch Twin, Alec perfectly.

I leaped into the air and shifted into an eagle so I could go after him without any interference. I surprised myself and the pack by my instantaneous change. I flapped my might wings, flying straight for Alec before shifting back into my wolf form. That took a little longer then a second but I managed to pull off a good landing with my large paws digging into the ground only a few feet away from him.

Had I found vampires attractive like Rio did then I might have found Alec to be cute. He wasn't bad looking, I could say that with a straight face, but I preferred my men to be living. His bangs flapped against the breeze as his burgundy colored eyes met mine. A slight huff escaped him as he stood there in the black suit, barely paying me even the time of day.

"Should I be afraid of you, mutt?" he said, laughing.

Damn straight you should be afraid of me.

While everyone else was holding down the vampire army, I focused my sights purely on Alec. I jumped after him, snapping my teeth at him as he danced away from my fangs. I charged after him with hopes of taking him down quickly before his powers could do too much damage. As far as I knew, the shield that Rio and Ruscion put up was still holding strong, but I didn't like the idea of putting too much strain on them. Their magicks were strong, but not even I was certain that they would be able to hold off Alec and Jane's powers indefinitely.

I snapped after him once more, but Alec jumped away before my fangs could sink into him. It frustrated me to no end just how fast this little boy was. I tried to swipe at him with my paw, but he rolled away before I could do any damage. He was a lot faster than Victoria was, no doubt it had something to do with him being an older vampire then she was. I hated that unfair advantage but it wasn't like I was going to let that slow me down any.

Once more I tried to jump after the pretty boy, this time I nearly caught him. My claws managed to slice into the fabric of his pants, exposing a bit of pale skin. Alec shot a glare at me and this time he went on the offensive. He charged after me, but I stood my ground when I saw a massive, black blur crash into Alec.

The vampire was thrown off balance, but he eventually flipped back into his feet just as I caught sight of Sam. The big, bad wolf was growling at the vampire with his black fur sticking up as he kept his distance from him. I could hear Sam's thoughts rolling out the punches at me for not being able to take him down sooner.

"_Don't judge me, Sammy boy," _I said, laughing at him. _"I'm your Alpha now, which means you got to respect me."_

"_Don't push your luck, Jacob," _Sam said back at me.

We both shared a wolfy laugh while Alec's eyes were darting between the two of us. I could see from his shifty glances that he was trying to come up with a way out of this one. I warned Sam to be on the defensive as we charged in after him to put it down before it was too late. The minute that Sam got within range for the kill, Alec threw himself into the air and snatched Sam from behind. He smashed his fist into Sam's chest before tossing him aside.

For a minute, I heard Sam's mind go completely blank which paralyzed me with fear. It was the longest minute of my life before I finally felt Sam's mind again. A heavy sigh escaped me as he said that he need a moment to recover. I worried about him until I saw Colin and Paul circle around Sam just as a pair of vampires tried to swoop in. They were able to keep the enemy at bay long enough to give Sam the time he needed to heal.

I took advantage of that moment to look around at the rest of the battle. Things weren't going so well for everyone else as they were for me. We had already lost two of our vampires and Brady was down with an injured leg. Leah was protecting Brady from incoming attacks, but not even she was fast enough to keep them all distracted long enough. A Volturi guard was about to attack the injured Brady when Ruscion interfered. The elven prince delivered a fatal blow to the vampire by running his sword through the undead's chest.

Alec remained a statue as I checked out everyone else.

Edward and Riley managed to take down a vampire together as well. Emmett and Jasper were stuck fighting against one of the tougher members of the guard, apparently. Carlisle, Esme, and Tanya were after another strong guard as well. The rest of our "friends" were busy against the rest of the guard that bore superpowers. I saw another one of us go down; I think his name was Randall.

What I saw next though left me frightened. Rio was fighting the other twin, the frightening Jane with Seth by his side. It amazed me just how much that Rio's fighting abilities had improved since he started training with the elves, but it still left me frightened as hell. Rio was able to get away from Jane's worst attacks; I knew his mind would be safe from her mental assaults as well. Seth would put himself between them to frighten her off before Jane could deliver an even remotely fatal looking blow. I would have to thank Seth later for putting himself into such a dangerous spot.

Arms locked around me, lifting me up into the air before I was tossed aside. "You need to start paying attention to me, dog!" shouted Alec. "Don't forget about who you're fighting."

I got back on me feet and glared at the runt before deciding I would need a little more power. I picked an image from my mind then allowed myself to shift into something big. The image I chose was that of a grizzly bear. I charged after Alec, knocking my massive weight against his lightweight body. Alec literally flew across the field with his body rolling around on the ground. He managed to straighten himself up quickly enough just as I finished reverting back into my wolf form.

Just as I was about to go after him again, another vampire sprung up between us. I knew he wasn't on our side just by the dark look in his eyes. Had I been in my regular form, we'd probably be about the same size, but this guy still outweighed me with his large muscles. His darker shade of skin and messy dread locks almost reminded me of Laurent, which painted a pretty enough picture in my head. I instantly remembered that miserable bastard and was left with thoughts of him trying to kill Rio at the meadow.

"Teach the pup a lesson, Santiago," laughed Alec.

This Santiago charged after me, but I was faster. I lunged in after him and used the ground as a spring board before getting him by the neck. Before he could grab onto me, I tore his throat apart, snapping his head off in the process. His body crumbled apart within that second, making me feel a little proud of myself as I spat out his remains.

With that taken care of, I could set my eyes back on Alec. He didn't seem impressed at all what I did to his friend, but I didn't really give a damn. I went after the pretty boy again, this time I wasn't about to show him any mercy. I managed to get a hold of him this time around. I knocked him down into the ground, but he latched onto me enough so that we both rolled around on the ground.

I snapped at him with my fangs, but he simply punched me away with his marble fist.

Despite having such a little body, he had a lot of power behind that attack. He easily pushed me off of him, leaving me feeling a stinging pain in my jaw as I tried to get back up. It was a mini struggle, but I was able to stand back up against him before he could attack me again.

I stood my ground, but I soon found myself on my back.

Alec grinned down at me as he held me down with his strength. I felt utterly ridiculous for not being able to do more. I'm the fucking Alpha, I should be stronger then this! But I had to remember, Alec was older than any vampire I've been up against. He had been drinking plenty of human blood, I didn't stand a chance against him on my own.

I briefly glanced back to Rio, which was difficult due to this awkward angle. I saw him though, he was still standing up against Jane, but he wasn't doing much better than I was. I caught sight of Jane knocking Seth away with a sharp kick, sending him sailing back. A member of the guard tried to grab Seth, but Kate quickly intervened by throwing an electric shock at the guard. Seth was spared, but Rio was completely on his own against Jane now.

"And here I was actually getting worried for a minute," Alec said, now sitting on top of me. "You and your damn bitch actually had me scared that we might lose. But now I know that you are all nothing more than just talk. You have nothing else to offer this world other than pretty words. You can't even put up a decent fight. With any luck though, your brat of a kid my actually be useful to us."

His words burned against my flesh the minute he threatened Jayden.

I growled with all my might as I shifted into something far larger then a wolf or bear. I wanted something that could smash this little son of a bitch apart. The animal that came to mind was a rhino. I have no idea why I decided this one, but I wanted the strength it offered as my body expanded to accommodate the massive size. I gave out the animal roar before smashing Alec with my tusk.

Alec was thrown back then I went charging after him again. I shifted into the bear again and tossed myself on top of him. Alec growled as he pushed me off and I quickly became a wolf once more before he could try anything else. My mind was on complete auto-pilot, at that point I ignored everything else around me as I focused my sights on killing him.

I wanted to kill all the Volturi for even thinking of going after my little boy.

They had another thing coming if they honestly believed they were going anywhere near him.

With my loudest growl, I ran after Alec once again. I wasn't about to show this little bastard any mercy at all, my eyes were blinded with only thoughts of ending his miserable life. I crashed into him with my claws and fangs going after him as I kept him pinned to the ground. I easily tore through the fabric of his clothes and even managed to leave a mark on his arm, which made the little witch cry out in pain.

I had him now, this was going to be the end of the line for him.

At least, that's what I thought when I felt something completely shut down everything about me. My mind was a complete blank as I dropped to what felt like the ground. Nothing seemed to matter any longer. Wait, that wasn't true at all, it was far worse than that. I felt trapped in my own body, I could see everything that was going on, but I couldn't even move.

No, I had to fight this, whatever this was.

It tasted like Novocain from what I could remember from my last trip to the dentist. This sickly feeling made everything around me go dark as I completely collapsed to the ground. I still retained my sight and hearing, but that was about it. Nothing else seemed to work, I couldn't move my body no matter how hard I would try to.

Alec knelt down in front of me and it was then I knew this was his doing. I tried to look back when I realized I was probably outside the range of Rio and Ruscion's shield. I felt so stupid for not realizing what Alec was probably planning since the beginning. He had been baiting me on since the beginning and now I was going to pay for my foolishness with my life.

Shit, why didn't I see this coming sooner?

I should've been smarter, I shouldn't have let my bloodlust overcome me like Rio had warned us all. Now I was going to die because of my stupidity. I would never get to hold Jayden in my arms again, I'd never get to feel Rio's skin against mine, and I'd never have the chance to grow old with Rio and watch as Jayden grew up. Even the two other kids that Rio had foresaw would never happen because I would be dead…they will never exist without me around.

"You dumb, dog," laughed Alec. He snatched me by the muzzle, keeping it closed with a tight grip. I gave out a dog-like whimper as I tried to struggle free, but my entire body was paralyzed by his power. No matter how hard I fought, there was no way I'd be able to break free from him.

Alec only continued to laugh, while he went on and on about how much of a fool I was.

I didn't need him to rub that in, I was perfectly aware of just how stupid I was.

There was nothing else I could do though, at least that's what it felt like.

So I just closed my eyes and surrendered to the nothingness that was numbing my entire being. Alec seemed to sense this with his laughter growing quieter now. I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be good or bad, but either way I knew this would be the end for me. This was the end of the road for Jacob Black.

I waited for death to come for me, but I didn't feel anything. Granted, his powers were to completely block out all feelings of pain, but I just assumed he'd want me to feel something other than being completely powerless. I opened my eyes and soon found a rush of sensations taking hold of me.

The pain was beyond anything I had to tolerate before. I felt that bones had been broken, but there wasn't a pressing weight against me. I opened my eyes to see me getting pulled aside as I reverted back into my human form so that I could properly heal. My head was tilted up so that I could see that it was Riley that was pulling me away.

But how though, when did he get here?

It was then I finally looked back to see Edward facing off against Alec now. The son of a bitch, it looked like I owed Edward for saving my ass.

I just hope that I would have the chance to repay that debt as I soon founded myself blanketed with darkness, while Riley yelled at me to stay awake.

I couldn't fight it though, I couldn't fight the urge to surrender.

* * *

**Rio's POV**

I could barely hang onto my sword at this point as I was left panting with exhaustion. My eyes never left Jane for a second though. There was no way in hell I was going to break my focus, if I lost control then I was as good as dead. All the training I did with the elves would be worthless if I failed to maintain control. I had to stay strong, I had to keep strong to protect Jayden from these monsters.

Every part of my being was pushed to the limit though as I fought against Jane. I did all the augmenting to my body like Ruscion and Arwen showed me how to, but it was still difficult for me to do a damn thing to stop her. I was going up against a vampire that was centuries older then I was. She had a lot more experience and a lot more power in her then I did. The only way I could pull off a win is if I used this elven weapon to my advantage.

No matter how hard I tried though, I just couldn't cut her with it. She always dodged it, not because she knew what it was. I think she was just trying to avoid getting hit period since she didn't want to be slowed down in any way possible. She didn't seemed frightened at all when I showed her the weapon, but I hadn't told her that it had the power to kill her with a single blow.

That part I had been planning to keep a surprise from her.

As I gripped onto the sword, I pushed myself to get back on my feet. I had my eyes glued to Jane like daggers. She simply huffed at me, completely amused by how I've grown these last couple of years. I admit, I was at a slight disadvantage now that Seth was knocked out. I didn't worry too much about him since Ruscion and Leah had him covered.

I was still worried about everyone else though. We were already short four vampires and two of our wolves had been knocked out. I guess that was still a good score, but the Volturi's guard had barely lost two of their members. Maybe we weren't doing as well as I had originally thought we would. Maybe we shouldn't have split our numbers up so much.

"Are we done yet?" Jane asked, checking her nails. "I'm getting awfully bored here. So unless you do something a little more interesting then I guess we're done here."

"You really need to get over yourself, Jane," I shouted at her. My grip on the sword only tightened as I stood up to face her. I stopped the heavy breathing and decided just to go all out against her. "Someone really needs to take you down an immortal peg or two!"

Jane stepped aside as my blade flew forward. She snatched onto my wrist, but I broke her grip by covering my hand with a glowing flash of magic. I turned away from her to give us space before she could try to do grab me again.

By now I was just really pissed off as I stared into this angelically, evil girl.

"Alright, so maybe you are a little better than I thought," Jane responded, bitterly. "Still doesn't mean you stand a chance against me. The Volturi always gets what we desire, your little mutt won't be any different."

She really shouldn't have gone there. Mommies didn't like it when some evil bitch threatened their babies, and I certainly did not like that. I swung my sword straight at her head, which narrowly missed as she jumped backward. I charged in after her, grabbing her ponytail and smashing her down to the ground. I felt my magic improve my strength to a level I honestly never imagined possible. I rubbed Jane's face into the ground before kicking her away. With both hands on my sword, I charged in after her again when I heard a familiar growl for pain.

It was like a vice grip had grabbed onto my heart. I was paralyzed as I slowly turned my head to the side to see Jacob getting attack by Alec. When I saw the fog wrapped around him, I knew that he had gotten too far away from the shield Ruscion and I put up. I screamed at Jacob as Alec was about to go in for the fatal blow on his human form. I was too far away though to save him, I wouldn't make it in time to save him.

But that didn't mean I wasn't going to try.

I tried to run after him as quickly as I could, but another blur beat me to the punch. I was amazed to see Edward knock Alec back, while Riley started to drag Jacob away. A sigh of relief escaped me as Edward and Riley got Jake away before it was too late for him.

The hairs on the back of my head stood up though when I felt something very cold behind me. I grabbed onto the sword with both hands and swung my body around with all the speed I could muster up. My own movement was a complete blur to me, but I found my target before it was too late.

The sword made a clean cut with a hand being completely severed off.

Jane's eyes were wide with shock as her right hand was no longer attached to her body. A smile crept up my face as I saw that confident look all but gone from her face now.

"What now, bitch?" I said, holding back the urge to laugh.

Jane gave me a vicious glare before trying to attack me with her only hand left. But she was stopped though as a look of pain started to attack her. She was completely motionless as her entire body began to glow and it wasn't the good kind of glow either. She was panicking now and I couldn't help but to feel proud of the pain I caused her.

"Elven steel," I said to Jane. "The only weapons in exist that are capable of killing a vampire, only someone with elf blood can use it though. Goodbye Jane."

I shoved the sword into her chest to quickly put her out of her misery. Jane shirked with pain before fire began to consume her entire being, a fire that I did not start. I removed the sword from her body and watched as her entire body became nothing but a pile of host ash.

"Jane!" shouted Alec.

The minute she was gone, I knew that we were practically golden now. The Volturi would surrender with one of their greatest weapons gone now. I doubt that they would want to risk losing Alec as well, but even then we had a chance of finishing him off too with his sister gone. It would be like killing Victoria, we just had to rub it in that someone he cared for was gone then he was as good as dead.

At least that's what I had in mind when I felt something in the air. A foreign taste and smell overwhelmed my senses until I was forced to looking off into the distance. The sounds of the battlefield seemed to grow silent as well as everyone looked out into the distance. There was a column of light that rose up from the ground that pushed its way up into the sky. My mind was in shock as I tried to believe that it was true, could it really be possible?

In a matter of seconds, my theory had been put to the test.

Several lights appeared in the middle of the clearing that eventually took corporal form. I nearly fell to my knees as the smile that appeared on my face nearly left me a drooling vegetable. I never felt so happy before in my life until I saw that they were here. Princess Arwen had done it, she had convinced King Authion to join us in the fight.

The elves were finally here now I knew that the battle was as good as over. The Volturi seemed to see that as well as I saw their guard immediately retreat to their leaders. The guard put up a defensive ring around their leaders, even Alec was present as he was shaking, probably over the grief of watching his sister being killed.

That's what you fuckers get for threatening my family.

Riley and Edward were carrying Jacob towards me. I dropped my sword, running over to my husband with my arms wrapping around him. I held back the urge to cry as the heavyweight nearly collapsed on top of me, nearly crushing me with his massive weight had Edward and Riley not given up their support. We got him down to the ground where I could do some healing before he passed out on me.

"I'm so happy that you made it," I said, crying over him. "I didn't want to almost lose you like last time."

"You can't get rid of me that easily," Jacob said, chuckling as I healed him. "You'll never lose me like that again."

I was going to hold him to that promise as I helped him back up just as King Authion arrived with his daughter and son. Ruscion helped me to support Jacob's weight, while the king kept walking forward with his daughter beside him. I noticed the smile that graced the princess's lips as she briefly turned to face us. I was really hoping that was an "I told you so" smile and not an "I just saw your husband's junk" smile.

Either way, I had Ruscion zap a robe that we could use to cover Jake's lower regions.

But I digress, there were far more important things happening now. I returned my focus on the king and his army of three dozen elves. The elves had gathered around our surviving vampires and shape-shifters. I noticed that none of our shifters were dead, but they all looked like they had went through hell and back. They were all in really bad shape, making me feel horrible for dragging them into all of this.

King Authion stood in the middle of all this, glaring out to the Volturi. Aro and Caius bore similar expressions, while Marcus looked as emotionally devoid as usual. The staring contest was really about to get on my last nerve. Somebody had better say something before I decide to cut somebody else.

"This battle is over, Volturi," Authion's voice boomed with power. He grabbed onto his sword, removing it from its sheath. "You have threatened the life of my great-nephew, his mate, and their child. I will now sit idly by as you harm another elf, half-breed or full-blood."

"We are not afraid of you, Authion," spat Caius. "We nearly killed your kind before once. We can do it again if we so desire."

"That would be most unwise," warned Authion. "We are not alone this time." He looked at the rest of us, waving the tip of his sword over at each of us. I felt my heart skip a beat as I worried what he might do with that before he turned back to the Volturi. "Vampires, shape-shifters, and elves have gathered here to battle you. They will gather again if you so much as threaten the existence of any of us once again."

I heard Vladimir and Stefan's laugh pierce through all of that. They were most excited at the prospect at getting to hurt the Volturi again like this. The Volturi didn't seem as pleased as the trio stepped back with their remaining guard. I took notice that Felix wasn't amongst them any longer so I just had to assume that he was dead now much like Jane was.

Aro finally broke through their ranks with his hands crossed over his chest. He was glaring at all of us, but I knew that he wouldn't do anything foolish right now. Aro was far smarter than that, he wouldn't endanger his own existence in a situation like this.

"Fine," Aro said, calmly. "We surrender, King Authion, but we surrender to Ilario Swan, not you. He is the one who organized all of this. He is the one who has defeated us, not you."

"A wise decision, Aro," said King Authion. "Ilario Swan is the true victor of this war. He has brought the elves back to this world just as our god willed it and he has overcame your army just as our god had foreseen it."

"Well," Marcus said, finally speaking, "he is far more interesting than we've ever imagined."

"And as a token of our good will," Caius said, turning towards Irina. He snapped his fingers with two of the guards grabbing hold of her. Irina looked frightened as she was instantly ripped apart by the guard, putting an end to her existence. I gasped and I heard a few equally shocked words escape the others. "She instigated this war, so she must be punished for it."

"We are done here," said Aro. "Goodbye, Authion. And congratulations, Ilario, you've beaten the bad guys." He said that last part with a light laugh escaping his mouth. He stared to walk away with everyone else following his lead.

For a moment, Alec remained behind as he continued to glare at me. His body was still shaking and I could've sworn that I saw a tear running down his face. Had he not been such an evil jerk and his sister wasn't such a psychopath then maybe I'd feel a little bad for them. But since that wasn't the case, I didn't feel a bit of mercy for him or the pain he felt.

Alec finally turned away and rejoined the other retreating Volturi.

It was finally over, the battle was done.

We won!

I hugged Jacob with all my strength and he returned the hug as Ruscion went after Seth. I kissed my husband, feeling absolutely relived to know that we were all safe now. I looked away from him to see equal looks of relief amongst everyone else here. The vampires went to their mates to embrace one another, Vladimir and Stefan were dancing over Jane's ashes, and the Cullens were gathered into an incomplete family. The wolves were howling into the air, probably announcing our victory to the others in La Push. It wasn't long before I could've sworn I heard another set of wolfy howls into the air.

My heart was pounding against my chest as I completely collapsed against Jacob at this point. I felt beyond exhausted as the weight of all my magic came crashing down against me. Jacob dropped to his knees from his own fatigued form as he fought to keep me in his arms.

King Authion came to our side with Arwen joining beside him. I listened as the princess whispered some words that were completely foreign to me, no doubt in the elven language. But I felt truly at piece as I felt something touching my body like healing threads that massaged my aching body. I didn't make up for everything I did to my body today, but it did give me back enough strength where I could actually stand.

"Thank you, Arwen," I told her as Jacob and I stood up. I turned to the king, doing a light bow since I didn't want to risk falling over again. "And thank you for coming to our aid, your majesty."

"It is I who should be thanking you, Ilario," said the king. "I was a fool. I was so obsessed with keeping my people from getting hurt that I allowed this bloodshed to happen when I could've prevented it all together. Your bravery has inspired me, Ilario and Jacob. You are both truly remarkable souls, it was an honor to meet you both."

"So what now?" Jacob asked. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well, I think you two have a baby to get home too," said Ruscion. He walked towards us with a half-naked Seth in his arms. The prince had removed his shirt and gave it to Seth, which went down slightly above his knees. Seth looked all happy and bubbly as the prince held onto him. "I'm pretty sure that Jayden misses the both of you."

"Yes, you can have a normal life with your child," said the princess. "You can raise him in peace without worrying of the Volturi attacking."

I liked that thought, I'd no longer have to worry about the Volturi coming after me or my family. That was a very pleasant though that started to blossom in my head. Jacob seemed to like that idea too as a goofy smile formed on his lips. He'd better not be planning on knocking me up again because I'm well aware that I can only get pregnant on the full moon.

Everyone pretty much thought that Jacob and I should go home now. Alice was already on her way to our place to drop Jayden off so we just had to beat her there. Everyone was practically pushing us to get out of this bloody battlefield that I had no choice but to cave in. I took a moment to thank everyone for their help and apologized to them for dragging them into all of this. I especially apologized to Tanya and her coven for the loss of Irina, but they didn't blame me. They accepted her death as her own betrayal against them.

I then went over to the Cullens, my other family. I hugged each one of them and thanked them for everything that they had done for me. Edward was the last one that I said goodbye to. I smiled at my first love and he returned the gesture. I hugged him and told him that I better get an invitation to the wedding. He chuckled against my neck before he finally let go of me so I could rejoin my husband.

I took hold of Jacob's hand and closed my eyes as Ruscion teleported us to our home.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that we were standing in our living room just as the doorbell went off. Jacob and I practically raised each other to the door, swinging it open to see Rosalie standing there with Jayden in her arms. She handed him over to us without any bickering, but not the same could be said to our fussy baby. Jacob held onto Jayden as I said goodbye to Rosalie, Alice, and the others.

I closed the door on them and turned to my husband and my son. Jacob was laying on the couch with Jayden on top of him. I had my back turned on them for just a minute yet they were both completely knocked out on the sofa. I smiled as I curled up beside Jacob with my eyes looking at our sleeping son. Not even I could fight the need to sleep as I surrendered to the blissful peace I felt now that I knew I was safe with Jacob and Jayden. So I succumbed to my desire for sleep, thanking every higher power up there, especially Freyr, for keeping us alive through these unforgettable years.

I closed my eyes with Jacob holding onto me, listening to my son's soft breathing, and knew that everything would be just fine.


	24. Once in a Blue Moon

Author's Note: Well, here it is everyone. The final chapter of my revampment of Twilight. It's been a long road, but I'm so happy I took a chance with this fic. I'm so happy that you all enjoyed reading the story so much. You've all motivated me to keep up with the story even when I was too tired to update. I appreciate all the alerts and favorites and reviews, I hope you'll continue to read all my other fics in the future. Well, thank you all. I'll shut up now so you can enjoy the final chapter. Read and review!

**Once in a Blue Moon:**

The years had been more then kind to Jacob and Rio, but this story was no longer about them.

With the battle between the Volturi over, Jacob and Rio were able to enjoy years of happiness as their family began to grow. More friends popped up around the corners and many of those friends got married and had kids of their own. Everyone was beginning to settle down, taking roots, but none of them had forgotten about the struggles that led them to this moment in their lives.

Now, their family had grown with their children slowly making their way out of the nest.

* * *

Jayden Black grew into a remarkable, young man who was so much like his father in every way possible. It was like looking into a mirror. Jayden was the perfect replica of Jacob, just with a little more attitude and far more responsibility then his father had while growing up.

The shifter gene became active within Jayden on his thirteenth birthday. He phased into a wolf Rio yelled at him to do his homework. He would've attacked his "mother" had Rio not anticipated such a move and knocked down his wolf son. The transformation had been truly shocking through for Jayden's younger siblings.

Yes, Jayden wasn't an only child. Rio and Jacob had a girl about two years after Jayden was born, a girl named Elena. She was a beautiful little girl who carried the best of both Jacob and Rio. Her hair was raven black and her skin was a creamy mixture of white and brown. She had the prettiest brown eyes that held her together.

Elena always had a habit of getting involved in Jayden's business. Being the only girl in the house, she took it as her responsibility to keep the men in her life in line. She also made sure that Jayden learned how to properly treat a woman and not become some type of jerk that didn't know how to clean up after himself. That was something Rio tried to install into his eldest son's head as well.

While Jayden flourished as a shape-shifter, Elena was blessed with both genes. Her elven-half was strong enough to allow her to be both a shape-shifter and an elf. Where Jayden could barely lift a pencil, Elena could throw her brother across a room if she really wanted to. She did manage to pull that off to when Jayden made fun of her because of her period once. He learned not to push those buttons again since he did not want to go flying out a window…again.

But the crown jewel of their family, at least how he liked to think of himself, was the youngest of the three. Four years younger than Elena and six years younger than Jayden was the baby of the family, Andrew. Now Andrew was practically the complete opposite of his older brother and sister, in more ways than one. He had a lighter complexion then the both of them, but not where near as pale as Rio. His brown eyes were very deer-like with long, dark hair framing his face, which is how he earned his nickname Bambi. He was an adorable boy who radiated with the same innocence that Jacob had before becoming a wolf, an innocence that Seth had for many years as well.

Andrew's shifter gene was completely dormant within him, despite all the shifters and vampires he surrounded himself with. Little Andy had a talent for getting himself in trouble; much like Rio did when he was younger. He was a magnet for disaster, which provoked Alice to have to keep a constant eye on the boy before he got himself killed. It wasn't that Andy liked the danger, danger just seemed to find him all the time, but he was nowhere near as bad as Rio. The boy was all elf, which is why he always blended in more with their elven family.

The children of Jacob and Rio were an interesting bunch to say the least though.

The three of them always had each other's backs, willing to go to the end of the line to keep them safe. Jayden was the most protective of the bunch since he was the eldest and knew he had to keep all the freaks from hurting his little sister and brother. It was safe to say that Jayden got in a lot of trouble because of this since he always thoughts someone was trying to harm them.

Elena tolerated Jayden, but she had to kick his butt from time to time so he'd remember that she could defend herself. She only did this though because Jayden was being an exceptional jerk to a boy she thought was cute. Somehow, Jayden had got the idea in his head that every boy was out to have sex with her. Well, that was partly true since she was a very pretty girl, but she plenty tough enough to keep any rowdy boys away from her if need be.

The one they all knew they needed to worry more about was Andy. Their baby brother was too naïve and would fall for anyone's lies. He would've jumped into a stranger's car if they said he knew their parents without any hesitation. Jayden and Elena constantly had to keep an eye on their naïve brother, especially since he had a gift for attracting the biggest jerks out there. Andy's sexual preferences made him a target for this biggest douchebags out there, something that constantly kept Jayden on high alert since he had to make sure these guys didn't hurt his brother.

But even amongst all this chaos, they all seemed to get along with each other well enough.

* * *

At twenty-two years old, Jayden already had his future decided. He would get his certificates to be a mechanic just like their dad. He inherited Jacob's fascination for cars and anything else that could go fast. He was a total speed demon, so he could constantly be found working at their dad's auto-shop with their uncles, Paul and Embry.

Today was the day though that Jayden was going to have to break the news to his best friend. He grew up with Embry Jr. as close as brothers, almost. Embry Jr. was born only a year after Jayden so the two spent nearly their entire lives together much like their dads did. But that friendship was about to be put to the test though as Jayden tested the boundaries with a very big secret he had been keeping.

For the first couple of months, he kept this secret completely to himself. Jayden felt totally wrong because of this, but it wasn't right for him to have these kind of feelings. How could he, it was sick and it violated all the guy codes out there!

To put it simply, Jayden had imprinted on Embry Jr.'s younger sister, Cassie. She was only two years younger than Jayden so it wasn't like she was just a kid or anything creepy like that, but it was still wrong. For the latter half of his teenage life, Jayden remained purely single because he couldn't just walk up to another girl and ask them out. He was completely enthralled by Cassie, but he forced himself to stay away since he didn't want to piss off his best friend.

Leave it to Elena though for being as insightful as ever. She noticed something was wrong with her brother then forced him to talk to Cassie about this imprint. Since their dad was a wolf and Jr had inherited the gene too, Cassie was well aware shape-shifters and the whole imprinting deal.

It took a lot of courage, but Jayden eventually talked to Cassie and told her about the imprint. She wasn't surprised at all by this. She had always had a thing for Jayden, a secret that she made Elena swear to keep hidden since they were kids. After that, Jayden and Cassie began to date in secret since neither one wanted to break the news to Jr., not even their parents knew of their secret romance. It was all kept hidden from everyone, but the young couple couldn't stand to keep the secret to they had to confess.

Their parents took it well, but Jr was still left in the dark.

Jayden waited for his best friend by their usual table at the pizza joint that their Uncle Quil had opened up. He already ordered Jr's favorite pizza in hopes of putting his best friend in a good mode before springing the news on him. Despite the fact that Jayden was almost twice Jr's size and the next in line to be Alpha once his dad retired, Jayden didn't want to provoke a fight with his best friend.

When the pizza got there and Jr was busy laughing at the movie they saw last week, Jayden finally sprang the news on him.

"I imprinted on your sister," Jayden said, bluntly.

Embry Jr clenched onto his knife out of instinct. He would've slammed it through Jayden's hand had he not managed to retain an ounce of self-control. For the longest moment in Jayden's life, Jr was completely silent before he finally said something to him.

With a heavy sigh, Embry Jr. smiled at his best friend. "Thank God it was you," he said, shaking his head. "At least I trust you with my sister. Could you have imagined if your cousin Danny been the one to imprint on her? I wouldn't trust Paul's kid anywhere near my sister."

"Who you telling," Jayden said, laughing. "I constantly have to kick Dan and Eric's ass so that they'll leave Andy alone." A soft smile graced Jayden's face as he held his hand out to his best friend. "Still bros?"

"Yeah man," Embry Jr said. "Bros for life."

The two friends laughed as they returned to their pizza like the hungry carnivores they were.

* * *

Even at twenty years old, Elena always had to play the role of mediator between her brothers. She always had to keep them in-line before they ended up killing each other. Not that they were always violent or anything like that. Jayden just liked to use Andy as a punching bag sometimes, but it was never anything too serious. Andy just didn't like to be played with like that and Jayden didn't know how to take a hint sometimes.

Then there was the fact that her brothers were incapable of cleaning up after themselves.

She stared at the mountain of dishes and knew damn well that her parents would be pissed if they weren't clean. She hated when they did this to her. Just because she was the girl, she got stuck cleaning up their dirty dishes and cooking for them. Not anymore though, she was no longer going to be their servant girl. She was almost done with university yet they still treated her like she was their maid.

In order to prove her point, Elena grabbed a towel and a sponge. She stormed into the living room where her brothers were playing their videos games. She threw the sponge at Jayden while dropping the towel on Andrew's head before unplugging the console. The boys screamed at her as the screen went completely black.

"I don't want to hear it," she shouted back. "I've been cleaning up after the both of you for too long! I'm done, I quit. Bitch all you want, but I'm not taking your shit any longer. Jayden, you need to learn to be a man. You're twenty-two yet you still live in your parents' house. As for you, Andy, you're getting older. The baby card isn't going to last much longer and since Jayden's imprinted that means mom and dad might be getting a grandkid in the near future. That also means you'll get tossed out of the house by your replacement!"

"You got Cassie pregnant!" Andy shouted at Jayden.

"No!" Jayden said, defending himself. "Ellie is just trying to scare you again."

Jayden got up from the couch and led Andy into the kitchen to get to work on those dishes. Andy was still asking his older brother if he was sure that Cassie wasn't pregnant. That led to a twenty minute argument between the two where Elena was left in complete peace for once in her life.

She took advantage of this by playing the video game that she had unplugged on them.

Like her older brother, Elena was a very independent type of a girl. She could do a lot of things on her own without any guy there to back her up. Their dad did a lot to teach her to be self-reliant since he knew how much of a pain his sisters' were on him when they were growing up. She could only wish that he forced a little more of that independence onto their younger brother, but Andy was too much of a baby to handle things on his own.

Elena was busy losing herself in the video game to remember she needed get to La Push to watch their cousins. The vibration of her phone snapped her out of it as she got a call from their Uncle Seth. She had completely forgotten that she was on babysitting duty for him and their Aunt Leah. For the next couple of hours, she had the pleasure of taking care of five little kids. She had to get their quickly before Aunt Leah got mad at her. Uncle Seth and Uncle Ruscion were cool, but Aunt Leah was a bit of a grouch even when her husband was around.

She barely said goodbye to her brothers and drove down the road when her phone went off again. She briefly checked the caller ID then smiled when she recognized the name. "Hi babe," she said into the receiver. "How was the store? Did your dad give you a hard time now that you're back for the summer?"

"You know how my dad is," laughed her boyfriend. "All I can say is thank God for my mom, she makes an awesome distraction. So what are you doing tomorrow night? I was thinking we could go out to Port Angeles to see that sappy romance flick you've wanted to see."

"And you really know how to romance a girl, Jerry Newton," Elena said, sarcastically. "I don't know if I want to go to the movies with you. Maybe I want to spend some quality time with my brothers. I haven't seen them for an entire semester."

"Ellie, I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it like that," Jerry said, trying to win points back from his girlfriend. "Besides, I thought you wanted to strangle your brothers? Didn't you say something about Jayden leaving the toilet seat up this morning?"

"Pick me up at six," Elena said, remembering the morning disaster.

"I love you," Jerry said before hanging up.

Elena rolled her eyes as she returned her focus on driving, smiling though as she realized she'd be able to get away from her brothers for the night.

* * *

Andrew always felt a bit of a loner while growing up even with his brother, sister, and cousins. He grew up with so many people around him, yet he never felt like there was somebody truly there for him. He loved his parents and he knew a lot of people cared about him, but it wasn't what he truly needed.

True love was something he was always seeking.

Saying that Andy was a romantic was a bit of an understatement. The boy was so helplessly lost in thoughts of romance that he always ended up crushing on someone only to be crushed when the feelings weren't returned. He was always on the lookout for his Prince Charming. He wanted that epic romance that his parents had.

Andy had always been a clingy child too, which didn't help him out any. He loved being held onto, he couldn't fall asleep unless someone was holding onto him for the first couple of years of his life. Andy was always cuddling up next to Jacob so much that Rio would get jealous of his youngest son for having more time with his husband. When Jayden started to bulk up though, Andy would sneak into Jayden's bed at night. It didn't help that Elena would constantly have Andy watch all those romance movies with her; it only added more fuel to the fire.

With all this naïve innocence, Andy was always a prime victim of bullies. Even their own cousins were cruel to him sometimes, but Andy never really seemed to notice. Paul's boys were jerks just like their dad, so Jayden constantly had to keep them in line with Elena backing him up of course. They got away with many pranks to keep their younger cousins from going after their brother like the famous Cheese Wiz attack.

Lately though, Andy has been running off on his own a lot at night. Nobody really seemed to notice much since Jacob and Jayden were always busy running around with the pack. Elena would join the other wolves sometimes whenever she wasn't at school or if she felt like tolerating all the guys. As for Rio, he was exhausted from teaching all day at the high school about English and music. Nobody knew where the sixteen year old boy would run off to in the middle of the night.

Taking some of their camping supplies, Andy disappeared into the woods around their home. He cloaked himself with magic as he wandered into the small clearing where he'd be waiting for him. He would set up the tent like he would every other night and get a blanket out to keep him warm while he waited. Since it was summertime, Andy only had on a short pair of shorts and one of Jayden's t-shirts that fit below his thighs.

Andy crawled into his little tent and rested his head against his hands. He listened to the sounds of nature around them, waiting for him to finally show up. It was getting a little late though, later than usual so Andy was slowly beginning to drift to sleep as the wind gently caressed the tent. Finally though, he heard a soft howl in the distance before the zipper finally came down.

Heat rushed into the small tent as another body entered. Andy rubbed his tired eyes when he felt his body coming closer towards his. Reaching out to him, Andy wrapped his arms around his very naked lover with his head leaning against the crook of his neck. The shape-shifter held Andy against his body, rubbing the boy's cold legs with his warm hands. He took in the boy's sweet scent with a large grin now on his face.

"I've missed you, Wolf," Andy whispered. "You've been gone for a longtime."

"Juvie sucks, babe," said Andy's lover. "You know I'd rather be here with you then anywhere else."

"Then stop getting in trouble," Andy told him. "If you get in trouble again then you'll go to jail and I'll never see you again. My parents already hate you because of all the bag things you've done. I'm too scared to even tell them we're together."

"None of that matters, Andy," he whispered. "It's just you and me, nothing else matters. You're the only thing I care about."

Andy straightened himself on his lover's lap, both arms wrapped around his neck. Even in the darkness, he could make out the older boy's rugged features: the square chin, the bulging muscles, and the dark, piercing eyes of a bad boy. "Promise me then, Noah Uley, that you'll clean up your act!" said Andy. "I don't want to lose you." He missed the rough feeling of Noah's skin against his own soft flesh. The way that he would take control, the way his warmth would smother him, they sensations his touch brought to him. Nobody could make Andy feel so perfect, so happy except for Noah.

"What do I get in return?" Noah asked, rubbing his lips against Andy's neck. "What's my incentive to be a good dog?"

"Me," Andy said, blushing.

"Sounds good enough to me," Noah said, as he pushed Andy on his back and got on top of him.

Their lips soon met and Andy felt the fireworks in his head as he fell deeper in love with Noah Uley, resident bad boy of La Push. His parents would be so mad when they found out, but he didn't care. All that mattered to Andy was that he found his prince, even if his prince was a little rough around the edges.


End file.
